Eternal Destinies
by Anaklusmos14
Summary: Third Book of Destinies Series. A fall into the endless abyss. A journey never taken by the heroes of old. Percy Jackson and Zoë Nightshade embark on a quest to do the impossible. A race against time through the worst place in the mythical world. Can they reach the heart of Tartarus and close the Doors of Death or will Gaea win out and turn the mortal world to ash?
1. Teaser

Ch. 1

_Falling_.

That was the only thing on Zoë Nightshade's mind.

Well no. Actually, that would be a lie.

There were a million things on her mind. To start, her imminent death. Then there was the quest to close the Doors of Death and the war with the Giants and their mother the earth goddess. And her friends on the Argo II. But actually, the most prominent thing on her mind was Percy Jackson.

Her eyes stung from more than just the air whizzing by her as she fell into what seemed to be accurately deemed the endless abyss.

_Gods of Olympus that one demigod had changed her._

She had always taken great pride in her uncanny ability to not find any good qualities in the male species. They were liars, cheaters, abusers and just about the worst kind of monsters roaming the world.

And why not? She had seen firsthand the kind of atrocities men were capable of.

She had a good life, surrounded by a family of likeminded sisters and a mistress who cared for them as if they were her own children. Actually she had had a _great _life. And for thousands of years, she hadn't even thought a better one existed.

_Then she met Perseus Jackson_.

Damn that half-blood. Why did he have to be so different than not only any male she had ever met but really any person at all? In all seriousness, where did he come off breaking the mold for the male species? They were supposed to be the abusers, not the abused. They were the villains, not the heroes! And after having such a miserable childhood, what right did he have turning around and being so, ugh, perfect.

No! Boys with terrible childhoods are supposed to become monsters themselves when they grew up. They weren't supposed to be self-sacrificing heroes who turn the world of man-haters upside down!

She had seen many boys with terrible lives turn around and ruin the lives of others the moment they had the power and strength to do so. And she had had no problem with it. In fact, she preferred it. It fit her idea of men perfectly and for millennia, it worked.

Then she went to that damn wilderness school. She _would _have died and that would have been fine; death in service to her mistress, a fitting end for a huntress.

But nope. That stubborn child just _had _to throw himself off the side of a cliff and rescue her. And as if that weren't enough, he had to turn out to be a pretty down to earth guy! She had expected him to want to be showered in praise for his bravery. Instead, he had the nerve to only care about his siblings, standing up to the entire Olympian Council to protect them no less!

And don't even get her started on the quest to Mount Othrys; fighting a Titan, defying fate to save her life! Who does that?

She brought her hands to her face where the moisture of her long since blow away tears had been.

_Percy Jackson_ did that. The boy she loved. And who loved her, _unconditionally_. Holy Zeus she sometimes had a hard time understanding it. She was not exactly what you would call an easy girlfriend. Quick to anger, sometimes abusive and as stubborn as a person could be were a few ways to describe her. And yet, he loved her anyway. Like a lot.

_What chance did she really have?_

Brave, handsome, kind and just, he had had the girls of Camp Half-Blood drooling after the mysterious son of Hades. And yet to him, it was like they had been invisible. He had first been her friend. And seriously, like the best friend a girl could ask for. He gave her space but didn't let her turtle up in her cabin like she had wanted. Instead, he convinced his father to break the Ancient Laws _just_ to cheer her up.

She let out a scream in the endless darkness.

It wasn't a scream of fear. It was a scream of anguish, of what she was losing. He had turned down becoming a god to be with her and she goes and falls into Tartarus like an idiot! Well there goes her happy ending.

Well, to be honest, she had kind of already had one. Even with the ups and downs, losing Percy for months and finding him only to be sent of a perilous quest, it had been the best time of her life. Her time with him was more than she could have ever wanted. He just made her happy; happier than she had been as a hunter, happier than she had been as a Hesperide. It was undoubtedly the best part of her life, despite how brief it had been.

Her eyes widened as she saw the tunnel open up into a cavern. It glowed with a dim red light and the first thing she noticed was the noxious smell as it seared her nasal cavities.

Whatever kind of air was down here was certainly not meant for human consumption. An acidic sulfur smell consumed her senses and stung her eyes.

She turned her body around, trying to get a look at the spot where she would do her impersonation of a fly on the windshield.

_A river._

She could see the outline of a river below and wondered if she would land in it. She doubted her powers over water would protect her but she kind of hoped she wouldn't have to find out. A quick death was the best option at this point. Even if she did survive, it would only prolong her suffering before she inevitably fell to one of the horrors of Tartarus.

She took a deep breath as she entered the cavern and closed her eyes, preparing herself for death.

"_I'm sorry Percy."_ She whispered as she fresh tears stung her eyes.

Suddenly she felt her body snatched, wrapped up in strong, powerful arms.

"Oh no you don't." Percy whispered. "You don't get to get rid of me that easy. Not now, not ever!"

Before she could even comprehend what was happening, Percy let loose a feral sounding scream. The water beneath them erupted hitting them so hard that the last thing Zoë remembered was something grabbing her hand tightly before she lost herself to the darkness.

**A.N: This is just a teaser. I'm starting work on chapter one but wanted to get something up because, well, you guys PM a lot. But here it is, the start of the FINAL destinies book. **

**Thanks for all the support and prodding, it finally got me moving. You guys are awesome.**


	2. Let's Have a Drink

Ch. 2

The first sensation Zoë felt was the rough, jagged ground that was prodding into her back. Even with just the weight of her small body, the ground was digging into her skin painfully. She could also faintly hear the sounds of a struggle near her but her brain wasn't putting things together quite yet. She assumed this was some kind of weird dream, an all too familiar experience for her and most offspring of immortals.

"I FREAKING HATE SPIDERS!" A voice boomed from around her, finally shaking the daze from her mind. Her eyes shot open and she found Percy standing in front of a giant spider, Arachne. She tried to gnash at him with her fangs but was met with a foot to the forehead... _Do spiders have foreheads?_

She pushed that irrelevant question from her mind as Percy jumped back to avoid a web shot at him before diving forward, going into a baseball slide and stopping right under her unprotected underbelly.

He pulled the pen from his pocket as drove it straight into her stomach, eliciting an agonized wail from the giant arachnid.

"Time to die Charlotte!" He yelled as Anaklusmos suddenly sprang out of its pen form and into full badass celestial bronze monster killer mode while still imbedded in her underside. He slid out the other end, pulling the sword with him and cutting a three foot long gash in her stomach.

Arachne let out another wail of agony before her body dissolved into dust.

Percy wiped the monster blood and entrails from his blade and kicked her remains into river for good measure.

"Stay dead bitch."

Zoë had watched the fight in silence, too stunned to do or say anything. Part of her heart seemed to break at what she was seeing.

_Percy was in Tartarus… Because of her._

Another part of her wanted to cry out in happiness.

_Percy was in Tartarus… For her._

Apparently her face was having trouble making up its mind by the confused expression Percy had. He looked torn between running to comfort her and running for cover. He settled for option C.

"I really hate spiders."

His random and very _Percy_  
like comment seemed to break her out of her stupor. She got to her feet and ran at him. He flinched involuntarily thinking she might smack him but she grabbed his face in her hands and crashed her lips onto his. He recovered and smiled into the kiss, clearly pleased with this outcome of her internal debate.

"You're so stupid." She whispered as she broke away for a quick breath.

Percy put his hands on her hips and pulled her back. His face had a smile on it but it was strained.

"I couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?"

Zoë glared at him. She tried to be angry but just couldn't._ Honestly, how do you get mad at someone who just jumped into Tartarus for you?_

"What have you done Percy?" She pressed her head into his chest. She rarely felt so vulnerable and never showed it, even with Percy, but as she continued to breathe in the noxious air of Tartarus, she felt the indescribable urge to just give up; forgo the impossible task ahead of them and accept death.

Percy pushed her back off him. His multicolored eyes shone as he looked at her. She expected him to comfort her but instead he looked angry.

"Snap out of it Zoë," he warned. "We landed in the Cocytus. It's affecting your mind right now. You can't listen to it."

She hadn't really taken the time to take in her surroundings but noticed how close they were to the dark waters of the Cocytus. She could hear the whispers of tormented souls urging her to accept her fate and join them in their eternal suffering. For some reason, she couldn't tune them out. She felt her body going limp as the overwhelming urge to give up was consuming her. Their words seemed so right and their voices were like a soft melody in her ear, urging her body to just shut down and accept the inevitable.

She felt a sharp sting in her cheek that drowned out everything around her.

She put her hand on her cheek, her eyes wide in shock. Percy was looking at her with narrowed eyes. She expected him to be scared but he just looked furious.

"Cut the crap. Remember who you are." He said in a low, dangerous tone.

"You slapped me…" She couldn't believe that had just happened.

"You needed it." He said seriously. She looked at him in disbelief, all thoughts of just giving up gone. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently as he looked into her dark eyes. "I promise you can beat me for the rest of my life to make up for that but right now, I need you to focus. We don't have a lot of time."

She looked at his face as saw the worry in his eyes. He turned his head and coughed violently, having trouble holding his balance until he recovered from his fit.

"We need to find the Phlegethon. If we don't, we'll be dead within the hour."

"But Percy," she tried to say but he grabbed her hand and turned them around, pulling her away from the Cocytus and towards a small barren plane littered with rocks, fires, and smoking funnels that poured more of the toxic fumes into the air.

Dark shadows could be seen flying overhead but they seemed to be ignoring them, for the moment at least.

Zoë felt herself coming out of the funk the Cocytus had left her in. Percy was still pulling her along but she was more helpful now as she walked on her own, keeping hold of his hand out of comfort now rather than necessity.

"Percy," she said more firmly this time. "Where are we going?"

He slowed his progress and turned to look at her and she got a good look at him for the first time. His face was white and covered with a thin layer of red tinted dust from the terrain of the pit.

"We need to find the Phlegethon. If we don't, we'll die down here."

"But why?" She asked stopping in her tracks and forcing him to look at her.

He stopped and ran a hand through his unruly dark hair, "Zoë, the air down here is toxic for mortals. We won't survive without help. The Phlegethon is what is fed to prisoners of the Fields of Punishment. It keeps them alive, er, well breathing when they would otherwise break down. It's the only real chance to survive down here."

He broke into a fit of coughing, blood trickled from the side of his mouth that he tried to hide but she saw it anyway.

She grabbed his hand and turned it over, looking at the blood he had tried to wipe away.

"Like I said," he wiped his hand on his pant leg and grabbed hers, "if we don't find the river soon, we won't last long."

Zoë bit her lip. She had done nothing but slow them down and she wasn't in nearly as bad a shape as him. She nodded for him to lead on opting not to say anything in fear of letting him know how worried she was.

They journey across what seemed like a small plane was agonizingly slow. Percy seemed to be moving with more and difficulty the further they went. His breathing was ragged and labored. Zoë could feel the effects as well but seemed to be weathering them better than him.

As they reached the far end, Percy dropped onto his knees. Zoë felt like doing the same. They were at the top of a large cliff, at least sixty feet to the bottom. At the bottom, a river of what looked like fire snaked its way through a ravine, another cliff on the other side.

"The Phlegethon," Percy weezed, pulling himself back to his feet.

"How will we get there?" Zoë asked dejectedly. She doubted she would be able to make it down and in the shape Percy was in, he would almost certainly fall to his death.

"We climb. It's the only way."

She looked at him worriedly. He noticed and straightened himself up, hawking up a wad of blood that blended perfectly with the crimson rock at their feet.

"Percy," she looked at him nervously. "What's wrong with you? You're getting worse and worse. I don't understand; I thought you'd be more adept to these kind of conditions."

He gave her a crimson stained smile, "The nectar is protecting you for the moment."

"What?"

His smile grew a little, "You were out cold. I had a small flask of nectar. I don't know how long it would have taken for you to wake up without it."

Her eyes went wide. "You used your nectar on me?"

He held up his hand to stop her, "Of course I did. Don't bother getting mad, it's over now. Once we get to the Phlegethon, I'll be alright."

She bit back a curse for him damn self-sacrificing nature.

"Do you have any left?" She asked knowing he wouldn't take it himself.

Before she could get a response, he got down on his hands and knees, backing himself to the edge of the cliff and shimmying himself down to a ledge below.

"Come on. This isn't going to get any easier." He prodded. She knew he was right but wasn't ready to end their discussion. When his head disappeared from sight, she followed his lead, grabbing hold of the ledge and making her way down, careful to have a firm grip as she moved.

Their progress was painfully slow. They stopped a handful of times for rest and on more than one occasion, rocks would come loose, nearly sending them plummeting to their deaths.

Zoë's hands were raw and began to bleed the further they went. The ledges seemed to have been designed to stop this very task; full of raised edges and sharp pieces of rock that cut her at almost every step of the way.

Around half way down, Percy stopped on a ledge that was just big enough for both of them to sit on. Neither of them spoke, using the time to catch their breaths and rest that weary muscles. Even in the best of conditions, scaling a cliff like this would have been a daunting task. Given where they were and their deteriorating bodies, it was all but impossible.

"So this is pretty special, eh?" Percy broke the silence, a trace of a sly smile on his lips. She looked at him, unsure if he was being dumb for losing his mind.

"What?"

"Come on," his smile grew a little. "How many guys can say they took their girlfriends to Tartarus? This is pretty much a once in a lifetime kind of date. Really, you should feel pretty lucky."

She stared at him, wondering how he could say something so ridiculous.

Then, her face cracked into a smile and a small laugh escaped her lips. She saw his eyes shine a little brighter in the dim light and her smile grew.

_Even sitting on a ledge in the middle of Tartarus, he could make her laugh._

She leaned her head on his shoulder and he slipped his arm around her, making her feel just a little bit safer despite their situation.

"Percy," she said softly. "We're not gonna make it out of this one, are we?"

He pulled her a little tighter and put his face in her hair. Even in the middle of this toxic wasteland, she smelled like the forest and put his mind at ease.

"I don't know," he whispered. "I honestly don't know."

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, both just drinking in the moment, a moment of peace where they could drown out everything around them and just focus on the fact that despite everything, they were together.

"I don't know what's going to happen down here Zoë, but I do know we've both been told we were supposed to be dead long ago." She picked her head up and met his eyes. "So far we've told gods, Titans and even the Fates that they can go shove their prophecies and destinies. We make our own and I don't have any plans to stop now."

She stared into his eyes for a moment longer before kissing him softly on the cheek.

He smiled at her, "First step to getting out of here is making it to the bottom of this cliff. The sooner we take the first step, the closer we are to our last." He grabbed her hands in his and closed his eyes. His hands felt abnormally warm and her eyes widened.

"Percy don't!"

He just held her hands tighter for a moment longer before letting them go. She glanced at her hands and found them mostly healed from the cuts and scrapes from the journey down so far.

"You're wasting energy." She chided but honestly was trying to hold in a relieved smile at how much better she felt with her healed hands.

He just shrugged, "Some things are worth the effort."

She tried to glare at him but found it impossible. "Can you heal yours?" She looked at his bloody hands nervously but he just shook his head.

"Afraid Hestia's gift can only be used to help others. Though," he flexed his hands a bit. "Maybe some rubbed off on me. They actually feel better."

She looked at him with doubt but before she could say anything, he slipped to the edge of the ledge and found his footing below. He paused and started coughing but caught himself, wincing a bit before he slipped out of sight.

With little other options, she followed his lead, following where he moved as they navigated their way down the side of the cliff.

The rest of the trip down was just as difficult as the first half. Though having a fresh start with her hands did make it a little less painful for Zoë, Percy seemed to be moving even slower though. He was careful to make sure of his grip and she could tell he was struggling.

_Damn his self-sacrificing nonsense,_ Zoë thought angrily. If he died, she would go from having a very miniscule chance to escape to zero. She made a mental note to not let him pull any more of that crap going forward. They would do this together or not at all.

As her foot finally made contact with the ground below, Zoë turned and found Percy on his hands and knees, crawling towards the fiery waters of the Phlegethon.

"Percy!" She ran to his side and tried to help him up only to find herself unable to. His body was almost dead weight as he crawled.

"Th… The water," he coughed.

She looked at the water, now just a few yards away and then back at Percy.

"What do you do?" Her voice was turning panicked as Percy went into a fit of coughing, blood leaking out of both corners of his mouth.

He looked at her and cupped his hands together.

Zoë ran towards the river and looked down at it apprehensively. She looked back at Percy as saw him unmoving, face down in the dirt.

She thrust her hands into the fire, expecting to be burned but found it cool to the touch. She hurried back as fast as she could, using her foot to flip him over. What she saw turned her blood cold.

His face was white, he made no movements and didn't seem to be breathing. Without hesitation, she brought the fire water to his lips and began to pour it into his mouth. At first, nothing happened but then he began to choke on the fire. Zoë pulled her hands back until he calmed a little and then began to pour again. She whispered encouraging words to him as he slowly and with difficulty, began to drink up the fire water.

Just as she poured the last in his throat, he rolled over on his hands and knees, coughing and spluttering but also very much alive.

"Di Immortales," he gasped weakly. "That stuff tastes like shit."

Zoë just smiled, the wave of relief filling her with ecstasy. It took him a couple minutes but Percy's colored started to return and he got to his feet, walking towards the river, the fiery light from the waters giving his face a menacing and evil look as it illuminated his large scar.

He knelt down, looking at the river warily, "I always prayed I would never have to try this stuff. This wasn't the scenario I'd imagined but it kinda tasted like I thought it would." He turned back to Zoë and nodded to the river. "I'm sorry but you have to. The nectar won't keep you going much longer."

Zoë knelt down, more apprehensive this time as without Percy's life in the balance, her mind had more time to question whether or not sticking her hands in the middle of an inferno was a good idea.

She swallowed down her doubts and scooped up some of the fire water in her hands. Before she had a chance to change her mind, she poured it down her throat.

The first sensation she felt was a soothing coolness. But that was almost immediately replaced by the overwhelming urge to vomit up what she'd just swallowed. Percy put his hand on her back, "It'll pass in a couple minutes but you have to hold in down."

She thought it would be impossible but she managed to hold the fire down. The pain was incredible and lasted for a lot longer than she hoped. But to her relief, it seemed to be working. Each breath wasn't as painful as the last until the air around them no longer seemed toxic, just stale and terrible smelling.

Percy dipped his hands in again, taking another drink from the river. He dropped to a knee, his face contorted in pain as the water burned him from the inside out. After a few minutes, he recovered and sighed tiredly as he looked at her.

"So what now?" She asked, unsure of where to go from here. The journey to the river had been an impossible task by itself, now she wasn't sure what their move would be.

Percy wiped some of the soot from his face and stood up.

"Now we follow the river. All rivers of the Underworld flow into the heart of Tartarus. I have no idea if I'm right but if I were Gaea and I'd taken control of the Doors of Death, I'd put them in a place no god or demigod would dare to go. I expect the heart of the pit is about a dangerous place as can be found down here."

Zoë rose to her feet, the effects of the fire water minimal by then. She looked at the Phlegethon again and then ahead in the direction it was flowing before nodding her head.

"To the Doors of the Death we go," she took hold of Percy's hand and they started their journey towards the very heart of Tartarus.

**A.N: Well first real chapter down. It may take me a few chapters to get into a groove for this story. I hope you'll all bear with me as I tell you the story of Percy and Zoë's final journey.**


	3. Anaklusmos FINALLY Updates

Ch. 3

Time lost all meaning.

There was no sun and no sky. The only light was a dull reddish one cast by the many fires that seemed to be burning randomly all around them. Without anything to go by, it was impossible to keep track of the minutes which were quickly stretching into hours.

It was hard to make out exactly what they were in.

_Was it a cave? _

No, that didn't seem the right word. It was way too big to be a cave. It was vast and seemingly endless. Every time they reached something she had seen in the distance, it was just followed by more and more of the same, never really changing and never coming to an end.

The Phlegethon went on for miles, making gentle curves and bends but generally continuing in the same direction... _Whatever direction that was._

Percy said it led into the heart of Tartarus. As unappealing a place as that sounded, she wished it wasn't taking so long to get there. The longer they traveled the more alone and isolated she felt. Despite being the birthplace of monsters, Tartarus was seeming more and more like barren and deserted wasteland, devoid of life outside of the two of them wandering aimlessly until their bodies failed them.

Zoë looked to her right. Percy was looking more and more weary the further they traveled. Their conversation had dried up hours ago. Neither of them seemed to have the energy to continue it, deciding it was best to conserve all they had for the task at hand, which was currently to put one foot in front of the other and even that was becoming increasingly difficult.

Before she knew what hit her, something hard hit her square in the chest. Unable to get any words out before a hand clamped over her mouth, her panicked face told the thoughts her voice could not.

Percy dragged her behind a rock, holding her in place until she realized it was him and calmed down. Looking into her eyes as he carefully removed his hand from her mouth, his eyes darted towards the direction they had been traveling and she quickly caught on. She nodded that she understood and crept to the side of the boulder and peered around until she found a pair of Cyclopes meandering around about twenty yards ahead of them.

She had been so caught up in her internal musings that she hadn't noticed they were walking straight into danger.

She looked back at Percy who was coming around from the other side of the boulder they were hiding behind.

"What should we do?"

Percy just shook his head, "Wait? Maybe they'll wander off."

She frowned at his plan. It wasn't exactly one of his finest.

"And what? Wait for them to catch us unexpectedly?"

Percy looked thoughtful for a moment. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Anaklusmos.

"Kill them?"

She rolled her eyes at his simple realization, "How about a little more detail to the plan?"

"Right," Percy agreed. His eyes seemed a little unfocused and she cursed at their carelessness. They were overdue for another drink from the Phlegethon as she too could feel the effects of the air around them but forced herself to stay focused.

"So, what's the plan boss?"

Zoë reached down into her boot and pulled out a small dagger, tucking it into her waistband and pulling her shirt over it so it was hidden but easily accessible.

Before she could say anything Percy cracked a crooked grin, "I'm not gonna lie, that was actually kind of hot."

She rolled her eyes at his badly timed comment.

"Focus!" She growled and picked up a rock. Without explaining anything to him, she stood up and tossed the rock about halfway between them and the Cyclopes. She shoved Percy to the other side of the rock and stumbled out into the open.

She fell onto her knees and yelped like she had sprained her ankle, turning over on her butt and wincing as she grabbed her ankle. She made sure to not look in the direction of the monsters, trying to sell the helpless girl act as best she could. She regretted not confirming this idea with Percy beforehand but her mind wasn't exactly clear and the idea had just popped into her head. She prayed Percy knew what to do.

The sound of thundering footsteps told her it had worked. She looked up and screamed like she was terrified as she saw the two one eyed giants lumbering in her direction. When they were about ten feet out, the Cyclops on the left stuck out its leg and tripped its companion, sending it tumbling into the rocky ground.

"My snack!" He roared with a laugh closing in on Zoë.

With the speed and grace of a true huntress, Zoë did a reverse somersault and was on her feet before it was within five feet. She whipped out her dagger and leapt forward just as the Cyclop's meaty hands reached out to snatch her. She ducked underneath and lunged forward, sliding the blade across its exposed thigh, eliciting a roar of outrage from the simplistic monster. Without giving it time to turn around, she attacked again and had the blade imbedded in the back of its thigh, sending the monster into a full on pain fueled rage.

Before she could pull the blade out, it turned sending her flying with a backhand that lifted her a good four feet off the ground and crashing onto her back.

"Bad demigod snack!" It bellowed at her, taking a limping step towards her. Her eyes widened in panic as she realized she lost her weapon in the unplanned tumble.

The monster reached down to snatch her up when its body stiffened and its eyes went wide in shock.

"Bad doesn't even begin to describe that woman." A voice chided from behind the monster. With a jerk of its body, a slightly glowing celestial bronze blade sprouted through its abdomen before its body began to crumble, leaving just a big pile of dust between Zoë and her ever irritating but endearing boyfriend.

Before she could comment on his stupid remark, Percy's eyes went wide and his hand twitched as a familiar looking shield sprang to life. He hurled it right over Zoë's body and into the stomach of the second Cyclops as it tried to sneak up behind Zoë. Almost like they practiced it, he tossed Anaklusmos over to Zoë who caught it by the hilt and drove it straight into the belly of the stunned monster. She let out a grunt as she forced the blade deeper until she felt the pressure lighten and the Cyclops dissolved into a fine pile of monster dust.

She looked around, making sure their little battle hadn't caught the attention of any other less than friendly inhabitants of the pit before picking up the shield at her feet and turning to Percy who was looking at her with a slightly irritated expression.

"Really? A shove and then you just jump into the plan? The plan you totally neglected to inform me about?"

She shrugged as she handed over the shield, which vanished with back into the bracelet on his wrist.

"You're a little slow but I figured even you could figure it out."

Percy sent a small glare at her but as usual, she just gazed back at him with a small smile to tell him that his glare _has_ never and _will _never work on her.

She handed Percy Anaklusmos which he tucked into his pocket after returning it to its very convenient pen form. She kicked at the monster dust until she found her lost dagger. She wiped the monster dust on Percy's pant leg, earning her another annoyed glare, before tucking it back into boot.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really craving a little sip of fire right about now." Percy announced stepping over to the bank of the river and wasting no time in dipping both hands in and bringing a hefty mouthful of fire water to his lips.

Zoë frowned at the prospect but followed his lead, enduring several minutes of agony for a few sips. Slowly, as the pain began to subside, she felt her bruised and lacerated back heal up and the air return to its previous repugnant but nontoxic state.

Once Percy had gotten his fill of the Phlegethon and endured the painful side effects, he plopped himself down behind the rock they had hid behind. He wiped some of the sweat from his face and took a minute to catch his breath. Zoë sat down beside him, relishing at the chance to rest for a moment after what had to have been hours of trudging through the depths of Tartarus and a short but exhausting battle. Neither spoke as they tried to recover some of the energy they had wasted disposing of the two Cyclopes.

"Where are all the monsters?" She asked, breaking the comfortable silence they had fallen into.

"Monster dust?" Percy offered but when she looked unamused and he became more serious. "I don't know. I was wondering the same thing myself. You would think we would have seen more than just two Cyclops considering how far we traveled."

Zoë looked thoughtful for a moment, "How exactly does Tartarus work?"

He just raised an eyebrow at the question. "Work? Monsters die and come here. What happens after that is really just theories and guesses."

"But," she looked confused. "The entrance to Tartarus in in your Dad's domain, right? Didn't he explain to you how it all worked?"

"This is _not_ my Dad's domain." He corrected. "My Dad handles the souls of mortals. This," he gestured all around them, "is very different. This is ancient, long before my Dad or even the Titans were born. This is Tartarus and it is far more powerful and dangerous than even the worst parts of the Underworld."

Zoë tried to contemplate his words. Before she had a chance, she felt him slip his hand into hers, garnering her attention.

"We do not belong here. No mortal belongs here. We need to be more careful. Dark and ancient powers reside in this place. By the grace of the gods we haven't run into them yet but if we want to have any chance to getting out of here, we need to make as little commotion as we can and pray we can avoid the true evils that dwell here."

Zoë felt a nervous shiver run through her body. His words were cold and as serious as she had ever heard him speak. The true danger of their predicament was finally starting to set in and she couldn't help but think about what was to come.

Before she could think too much, he nudged himself closer and slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tight, providing the wordless comfort she needed from the one person that could provide it to her. Regardless of what was to come, she allowed herself a moment to just relax against Percy's body and think about something other what lay ahead of them.

**A.N: I need to get a warm up chapter in for this story. Six months between updates and it's a little hard to just pick up where I left off. Longer chapters will come as they continue the journey through Tartarus but I will try to focus on this story as I have a very, uh, irritated friend who disapproved of my not following through with what I said I would do.**


	4. An Unwelcome Old Friend

Ch. 4

It only felt like minutes.

Zoë felt herself being shook and tried not to let out a groan of annoyance. The sleep felt so good and she refused to let go of it willingly. She could have sworn she had just shut her eyes no more than two minutes ago and had no plans to hear otherwise.

Unfortunately for her, the persistent shaking finally shook her from her haze as she opened her eyes. The sight before her gave her the indescribable urge to vomit. It was like she was waking up only to find her worst nightmare had come to life.

Sleep had been so blissful. A temporary escape from the harsh reality she now found herself in. Despite the dimness of the lighting, she found it difficult to keep her eyes open. Something about the light, or maybe the toxicity of the air around them, made it difficult to keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time.

"Hey," a soft voice said, "we should start moving again." Percy whispered. She had yet to raise her head off his chest. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. They were resting after the battle with the Cyclopes and she must have dozed off without meaning to. She couldn't describe the disappointment that they weren't sleeping peacefully in their room on the Argo II.

"Sorry," she said in a raspy voice. She cleared her throat, "How long did I fall asleep."

"A few hours?" It was more of a question than an answer but her eyes finally fully opened at his words. "It's hard to tell how much time has passed."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

Percy looked down at her, his patented crooked smile creeping onto his lips.

"I thought I just did."

She picked her head up and glared at him, "Percy, you shouldn't have let me sleep that long!"

He rolled his eyes, "And end the one enjoyable moment I've had since catching up to you on the fall down here?"

_Damn him_, she thought to herself. _Why did he have say the sweetest things without even meaning to?_

"But you should've woken me up so you could sleep too," she tried to argue.

He just shrugged, "I wasn't tired. I think I had too much adrenaline pumping from the battle with those Cyclopes."

She knew he was lying. He looked tired. As much as he tried to hide it, she could always find the truth in his eyes and they showed the weariness he refused to let his body show. Before she had a chance to argue more, he picked himself up, offering her a hand and pulling her up as well. She stumbled a little, her legs a little asleep still from her nap and he caught her in his arms. Before she could regain her footing he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

Despite the situation, she felt the all too familiar butterflies flutter in her stomach that popped up every time he kissed her at the exact right moment.

He pulled back, the weariness in his eyes replaced by that sparkle she was more used to seeing in his multicolored eyes.

"Ready to keep moving?"

Zoë just nodded, her voice choosing that exact moment to fail her as she wished she was still in the moment from seconds earlier.

Percy peered out from behind the rock, taking a quick scan of the area ahead of them before stepping out into the open again. She followed his lead as they resumed their trek along the banks of the Phlegethon River. The sleepiness was quick to leave her and she couldn't deny how much better she felt after resting for a few hours.

Percy seemed less rejuvenated from their rest and she mentally cursed at his stubbornness. He would ride himself to death before admitting he needed rest and she knew she needed to keep an eye on him as they marched on.

Just as it had been before they ran into the Cyclopes, the journey was arduous and a perpetual repeat of the same barren wasteland that had been marching through for unknown hours. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed but after what Zoë could only guess was a few hours, the terrain finally began to change.

Instead of the red, chalky ground they had been trekking through, the ground became softer. It was almost squishy under their feet and felt moist under their feet.

Percy seemed to have noticed the change as well, looking at their feet as they walked. Fires still burned around through; though what they were burning was a mystery to her. They just seemed to randomly pop up all around them. But then again, this was Hell. She supposed it made sense there would be fire.

The Phlegethon had come to its end.

_Well, end wasn't the right word._

It did split into a series of smaller flaming extensions that spread across a large, somewhat flat plain. The largest part of the river stayed intact, flowing across the vast field before appearing to vanish.

"Ah," Percy said in an almost relieved tone. "Finally, a change."

Zoë couldn't argue with that. She was beginning to think Tartarus was nothing more than an endless abyss that would kill them by keeping them marching until their legs stopped working.

"What now?" She asked.

Percy pulled Anaklusmos out, keeping it in pen form as he twirled it in his fingers. It seemed like more of a nervous twitch than anything else as he scanned the area out ahead of them.

"We march on, I guess. I forgot to grab the pamphlet with the layout of Tartarus during the introduction seminar." He replied sarcastically.

She glared at him but he simply shrugged his shoulders, "I'm open to suggestions but the only option I see is to keep going."

She hated when he did that. He had the uncanny ability to make the most complicated situation simple and make total sense while he did it.

Before she could reply, he turned to one of the small branches of the Phlegethon that snaked out into the plain ahead of them. Without a word, he dipped his hands in and brought the flames to his lips, forcing himself to gulp it down before he could think about how painful it was going to be.

He clenched his eyes as the fire water burned him from the inside out. After a few minutes, the pain seemed to subside and he turned to Zoë.

"Do it. We have no idea what we might run into out there and this could be our last chance to re-up on this pleasant little beverage."

She frowned but didn't argue, following his example and forcing down more of the excruciating but lifesaving fire. She clenched her eyes trying to withstand the pain when she suddenly felt something enter her mouth. The pain in her mouth vanished and it felt like she just had a quart of ice cold water shoved inside. She opened her eyes and found Percy's hand was over her mouth, making her swallow the substance. As it travelled down her throat and into her stomach, all the burning and pain vanished instantly. She looked up at Percy in disbelief.

"What was that?" She growled.

Percy held out his hand where a miniscule piece of Ambrosia rested; a piece way smaller than the one she felt unceremoniously shoved in her mouth. Without a word, he plopped it in his own mouth, his shoulders immediately slumping in relief as he felt the effects of the godly food work its magic.

After a moment, he smiled at her, "Sorry, I can't stand watching you in pain."

She shoved him hard, making him stumble back, "What else to do you have?"

He recovered and reached into his pocket pulling out a small flask and a plastic baggy with barely more than ambrosia crumbs collected along the bottom.

Without giving him a chance to react, she snatched both items from his hands and glared harshly at him, "We need to save this for emergencies! Where did you even get these?"

He looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I always carry them. I've learned long ago that danger can lie around even the safest looking corners."

Zoë didn't say anything. She tucked both items into her pocket and tried to contain her anger at his wasteful nature. Despite knowing he only did it out of love, she had to hold herself back from snapping at him. While uncomfortable, she was fine. He had wasted their tiny supply of ambrosia because he was too soft to watch her suffer.

"Let's move," she said coldly.

As much as she hated to admit it, she felt a million times better now and turned away from him before he could notice. They eyed the vast expanse in front of them. It was another barren wasteland. Fiery chasms littered the plain along with blackened rocks and boulders. The Phlegethon was split into a half-dozen tributaries that zigzagged across the plain before flowing back into their source and vanishing from view at the end of their sightline.

About fifty yards in front of them, a bit of movement caught their eyes before a small creature seemed to claw its way out of the ground and looked around wildly.

"Is that a Hellhound?" Percy said shocked. "It looks like a baby."

Before she could respond, a dark figure swooped down out of the clouds and snatched the baby monster up before shooting back into the sky.

"Well that's just awesome." Percy muttered, "Another direction to watch our backs from."

Zoë eyed the spot where the Hellhound was snatched with surprise.

"So monsters die and are reborn in Tartarus," she said more to herself. "But where do they go afterword?"

"To the Doors of Death I suppose," Percy answered absentmindedly.

"So," she surmised, "we could follow one of these monsters, if we go unnoticed, and they would lead us to the Doors of Death?"

"Well," he seemed doubtful, "in theory, I guess."

Zoë watched the plain waiting to see if any more monsters would spring out of the ground but found nothing stir, much to her disappointment.

"But following a monster isn't my idea of a good plan," Percy added brushing past her and entering the plain, forcing her to follow him into more of the unknown.

They tried to move quickly but the distance they needed to cross was vast. They soon lost the energy to hurry and instead tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, not an easy task for two living mortals in the middle of Tartarus.

After several minutes of walking, Percy couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He looked around but couldn't see anything. The feeling came from all around them, as if a pair of eyes was moving, not staying in one place long enough to be noticed but it was like Percy could feel them on him. He didn't want to mention it to Zoë though, the last thing they needed was something else to worry about.

After a few more minutes of walking, Percy was suddenly shoved to the ground. He rolled over in time to see Zoë dive forward to avoid one of the winged demonic creatures as it tried to snatch her up like it did to the Hellhound.

Zoë rolled forward and stayed crouched to the ground as one hand went to her ankle to unsheathe the dagger held there.

"Percy watch out!" She yelled.

His eyes turned to see another winged creature making a pass at him with another on its heels.

Percy reached down and snatched up some of the muddy dirt substance that made up the ground beneath them.

As the monster opened its clawed feet to grab him, Percy tossed the dirt in its face causing it to let out an ear piercing screech. It pulled up blinded and collided with the monster behind it sending them both crashing to the ground as Percy dove to avoid be caught up in the collision.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out Anaklusmos, ready to finish off the dazed monsters when he felt a small hand on his arm, yanking him back.

Before he could ask what she was doing, the ground beneath them began to tremble lightly. He followed her eyes across the plain and paled at what they saw.

Standing no more than fifty yards ahead of them was a monstrous figure Percy wished would never have to see again in his life.

Fully reformed from the former puddle of sludge Percy had turned him into was Polybotes; even from such a distance, Percy could see the wicked looking smile adorning his ever ugly face.

"Perseus Jackson!" He boomed across the plain, "I've never been one to put much faith into Fate but even I cannot deny the eternal debt I owe those three hags for this little present!"

Zoë glanced at Percy and saw his ashen face, a look she'd only seen a few times and never hoped to see again… A look of pure fear.

"Percy," she said quietly, trying to break him from the trance he seemed to be in watching Polybotes.

She shook him and he finally turned to look at her. She didn't need to say the words, her face asked the question for her.

_What do they do?_

"I…I… I," he couldn't even get words out because he didn't have any to give her.

What could he say? They had no god. How could they kill a giant if they didn't have a god to help them?

"_Run…" _he whispered. It was all he had. There only hope, no matter how slim, was to run for it.

Before they could even try, Polybotes stopped marching towards them, standing about twenty feet away now, his evil smile only growing as he saw the look on Percy's face.

"My, My," he mocked, "the _great_ hero, Perseus Jackson, looks to be at a rare loss for words. Nothing to say without some halfwit virgin goddess to fight with you?"

Anaklusmos sprang into sword form on its own, almost as if it knew Percy was too stunned to do it himself.

The feel of his sword coming to life snapped him out of his funk and he shoved Zoë away from him.

"Run!" He yelled knowing her only hope was to run while he fought the giant.

Before she could even argue, Polybotes struck.

Rather than charge at Percy, he hurled his weighted net and caught Zoë before she could dive out of the way. The net wrapped around her small body and within seconds she was tangled up and stuck struggling as she rolled around only to flounder at her attempts to break loose.

Polybotes spun his trident in his hand, a wicked grin on his face.

"Finally," he said with satisfaction. "No one else to help you demigod. Come, and meet your maker. I promise to kill her quick once I'm down with you!"

Percy glanced at Zoë but knew he could never free her before Polybotes ran him through. His only option was to fight and pray that he could immobilize the giant long enough to free Zoë and run for it.

Forcing the fear from him heart, Percy charged at the giant.

Before he got within five feet, Polybotes met his charge with one of his own, driving his trident into the spot Percy stood. Only his quick reaction kept Percy alive as he dove forward and came back up at Polybotes' feet.

He rolled aside to avoid being stomped to death and drove his blade deep into the giant's calf.

Polybotes roared in outrage and swept his weapon at him, catching him in the leg before he could dart aside.

Percy regained his feet and charged again, this time slower and waiting for Polybotes to make his move.

The giant tried to squash him under his trident but Percy saw it coming. He jumped back and then jumped onto it before it could be pulled from the ground. As Polybotes jerked back, Percy lunged forward, landing on Polybotes shoulder and trying to keep his balance long enough to strike.

Polybotes spun around and Percy grabbed onto the only thing within reach, the giant's ear.

A handful of the basilisks that made up his hair snapped at Percy who managed to swipe at them with in blade, cutting a couple in half and forcing the others to retreat back to the giant's head.

Polybotes reached up to grab his unwelcome rider but Percy let go, sliding down his back and slicing with Anaklusmos as he went.

Polybotes roared in pain and stumbled forward, golden ichor pouring from his back from where Percy got him.

Just as Percy landed on his feet and turned towards his enemy, he got a firsthand view of the wounds closing up just as quickly as they were inflicted.

Polybotes turned with an arrogant smile on his face, "Not bad, little demigod. But you cannot win down here! This is my father's domain! I will have my vengeance against you!"

Percy tried not to let his fear show. Unfortunately for him, he knew Polybotes was right. He was only buying himself a few extra moments of life. He would soon feel the giant's wrath and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Polybotes charged again, this time slower and waiting for Percy to make a move. As he closed in, Percy tried to jump aside but the giant saw it coming and used his trident to sweep his legs out from under him.

Before Percy could recover, a huge dragon's foot pinned him to the ground, keeping him in pain and in place but not heavy enough to crush him.

"A good effort, Percy Jackson, but the time for your games has ended. It' time for you to face your inevitable death!"

Percy tried to break free but Polybotes just increased the weight holding him down. He raised his trident to finish him, smiling widely as he prepared to go for the kill.

Refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing him cower, Percy keep him eyes open, glaring murderously at his enemy.

Just as Polybotes brought the fatal strike down, Percy thought he had failed. He tried to keep his eyes open but before the blow landed his entire world was filled with darkness.

**A.N: I feel like I'm warming up. I'm starting to get back into the groove. Chapters will progressively get longer… And what better way to get back into the groove than leave the always loved cliffhanger.**

**Ok… See you guys in six more months.**

**Lol… See you this weekend… Already started next chapter.**


	5. Audience With Night

**Ch.5 **

**Last Chapter:**

_"A good effort, Percy Jackson, but the time for your games has ended. It' time for you to face your inevitable death!"_

_Percy tried to break free but Polybotes just increased the weight holding him down. He raised his trident to finish him, smiling widely as he prepared to go for the kill._

_Refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing him cower, Percy keep him eyes open, glaring murderously at his enemy._

_Just as Polybotes brought the fatal strike down, Percy thought he had failed. He tried to keep his eyes open but before the blow landed his entire world was filled with darkness._

**Now...**

Percy was about ninety nine percent sure he was dead.

He'd been so close so many times, he could swear it almost felt the same... With the exception of the ridiculous amount of pain he felt in his back.

_Almost like he'd been stepped on by a giant..._

Oh right, he remembered bitterly, that most definitely happened.

_Wasn't death supposed to end his pain? He could have sworn that was the deal... You die, then you chill out for eternity in Elysium._

Maybe his Dad was messing with him... Though his Dad rarely joked and this seemed like the worst possible time for a joke.

_Hmmm...his Dad was pretty bad with jokes..._

But what was with all the darkness? Usually he actually preferred the dark but this was too much, even for him. It was like something had sucked the light out of the entire world. He had trouble remembering what light even looked like.

Then he heard it.

A cross between a whimper and a yelp. And he knew exactly who it came from.

"Zoë?" He yelled, a hint of panic in his voice. When she didn't respond, his panic grew.

Then, as if someone had ripped the blindfold from his eyes, the world had light again.

And he was pretty sure he made a similar noise to the one Zoë had made.

"You'll have to excuse me," a melodic but very loud voice said from in front of him. "I tend to forget you mortals need light to know what is going on around you."

The most beautiful woman he had ever seen stood in front of him.

Wait, woman wasn't the right word.

_Woman tended to be less than thirty feet tall._

Goddess. Yes, this could only be a goddess and one that made Aphrodite look like an ugly duckling, stood about ten feet in front of him. He saw Zoë a few feet to his right, the net she had been tangled in was gone and she just stood gawking at the being in front of them, much like Percy guessed he was.

"Night," Percy said in awe. He hadn't meant to speak but it was like the mere appearance of her had coaxed it out of him.

She smiled when he spoke, clearly pleased to be recognized without having to introduce herself.

"Ah, so nice to be known." She seemed happy but it was hard to tell because her voice boomed from her height of thirty feet, it was like she was her own high powered megaphone.

Both Percy and Zoë flinched; the power of her words and just the raw power coming off her was hard to stand there and endure.

Nyx frowned at the two and took a step towards them. As her massive foot came down, her body began to shrink until by the time it touched down, she was a far more reasonable height... Still about seven feet but at least they didn't have to crane their necks to look up at the goddess.

"Better?"

Percy just nodded his head. With the goddess a more human height, he finally got a good look at her. She was stunning. Long legs came up to a very full and flattering pair of hips. She wore what looked like a chiton but it was hard to tell. It certainly wasn't made of any clothe he had seen before. It was like it was actually made of the night sky, complete with stars, planets and galaxies. It complimented her dark complexion perfectly.

She was thin, with modest sized breasts, much to his surprise considering the form most goddesses preferred to take. She had long flowing dark hair but the thing most breathtaking was her eyes. Sitting in her perfectly sculpted face, they looked like supernovas burning bright in the starry night sky.

He wasn't really sure what to do. He knew if he said or did the wrong thing, Nyx could scatter their atoms throughout the cosmos with little more than a thought.

He looked around, wondering what had happened to Polybotes, not that he wasn't pleased he was no longer being squashed into a Percy pancake.

"The giant?" Nyx said with distaste, "I grew tired of his monologue about defeating a mere mortal."

Percy looked up, a little surprised by her words.

Nyx just waved him off, "Those insolent offspring of Tartarus are nearly as unpleasant to listen to as they are to look at. He will reform but not for a long time."

"Um," Percy wasn't really sure what to say but he felt he should probably say something before she got bored and disposed of them as well. "Thank you, my lady."

Nyx tilted her head to the side, almost like she was trying to figure out what Percy meant by that. His body tensed, he was ready to get blown to pieces. But she shocked him again.

"You, on the other hand, I find you intriguing."

"What?" He tried to keep his mouth from dropping open in shock, "you do?"

Zoë tried to clear her throat as quietly as possible while still drawing Percy's attention.

Before he could even look at her, Nyx spoke, "Not you," she looked at Zoë with disinterest.

Something about the way she spoke made Percy even more nervous. He needed to keep Nyx's interest on him long enough to figure out a way to get them as far away from her as possible.

"What makes me so interesting?" He asked before adding a quick, "my lady."

Nyx turned and almost seemed to smile when her attention was back on him.

"Because you are so dark." She made it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "A child of Poseidon with so much darkness in you, how could I not be drawn to such an interesting creation."

He wasn't sure how to feel about being called a creation but decided that if it pleased her, she could call him whatever the Hel she wanted.

"Um, yeah," Percy was trying to keep the conversation going but conversations with ultra-powerful goddesses weren't really his forte. "I do love the dark."

"Like all of my children," Nyx agreed, "you find yourself most comfortable in the night, do you not?"

"Yeah, uh, I guess you're right." Percy agreed before he remembered something he learned long ago. "Like Thanatos, he's one of your children, right? I know him, we are actually old friends."

Nyx smiled again, pleased at his words but didn't respond to his comment. "But you, a child of the sea raised in Hades. The darkness does not belong in you yet you embrace it like you were born from it."

Percy rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what he was really supposed to say, "Yeah, that's me. I do love the dark."

Nyx waved her hand Percy's entire world went dark. When he regained his sight, he could barely see anything around him. He was in some kind of room that was so dark he could hardly see his own hand in front of him. He immediately reached out to his right and felt his stomach climb back out of his throat when he felt Zoë's hand as well. He squeezed it reassuringly and pulled her towards him, putting her behind him. She grabbed onto the back of his shirt and held on for dear life. Whatever just happened, they needed to make sure they didn't get separated. Percy guessed he could only keep Nyx preoccupied for so long. Eventually, they would have to make their move, no matter how futile it may be.

"Ah," Nyx seemed pleased with herself. "Much better. Can you see me demigod?"

Percy strained his eyes, trying to look ahead of him. Vaguely, he could make out the shape of Nyx's form seated in what looked to be some kind of seat, a throne most likely.

"Yes, my lady."

In the blink of an eye, Nyx was in front of him. He instinctively flinched back and ran right into Zoë who held onto him tightly.

"But not very well I see," Nyx said in a disappointed tone. She raised her hands and seemed surprised when Percy didn't flinch again. She put her hands to his face, directly over his eyes.

What he saw, he could never properly explain in words. The best he could do was guess it was like looking into a black hole. He saw stars and planets and galaxies and all the cosmos all at once, too fast to consciously comprehend. It was like he saw all of space in a millisecond and just as quickly as it was all there, it was gone.

Percy took a step back, his eyes wide in shock.

"Wh... Wha... What was that?"

Nyx had vanished and reappeared in her throne, leaning back casually as she looked at him apparently amused.

"A glimpse, demigod. A glimpse of what no mortal has ever seen before. You have seen the night, it's everlasting and eternal reach. Tell me, can you see me now?"

Percy blinked a few times and when his mind came into focus again, he almost had to do a double take.

He looked around the room and saw everything clear as day.

_Well, day was absolutely not the right word._

It was dark but it was like it didn't matter. He could see Nyx, lounging in her throne. He could see the entire room, the walls, the floor and the ceiling. The room was almost completely empty with the exception of Nyx and her throne.

The main thing he noticed was there was no door. Just four walls, a floor and a ceiling, and Nyx.

"Why can I see everything now?"

Nyx smiled, "This is how my children see the world when I am in it. You have no use for my daughter Day anymore. You are now a true child of the night."

Percy was so confused he didn't even know where to begin.

"Can I only see in the dark now?"

Nyx chuckled lightly, "No demigod, you will see as you always have. The night shall no longer hinder your sight like it does other mortals."

Percy stared across the room at Nyx. Everything that had happened since the goddess appeared had been so confusing and odd, why was she doing this?

Why hadn't she just killed them or let them be killed?

Nyx was watching him expectantly and Percy blurted out the only word on his mind.

"Why?"

Nyx stared at him, her supernova eyes boring into him and he was pretty sure he was about to be obliterated.

"Why what?" Her tone was neither cold nor friendly. It wasn't amused or angry and Percy had no idea if he was signing their death certificates.

"Why all of this? Why save us? Why bring us here? Why show me that and gift me with this sight? Please forgive me, my lady, but why aren't we dead? You are Night, one of the most powerful beings in existence, why even give us an audience?"

He could almost hear the air leave Zoë's lungs behind him. She clearly assumed he had just gotten them killed. He half expected her to do it herself and start choking him out right in the middle of the room.

Instead, she just pressed her head to his back and he couldn't help but feel she was saying her goodbye without using words.

Nyx was silent. Just staring at him like he were a curious looking insect crawling around waiting to be crushed under foot.

After what felt like an eternity, Nyx stood up and he involuntarily closed his eyes and prepared to be blasted away.

"Why not?"

He opened his eyes but all he could say was, "Um."

"You are no threat to me. I am Night. I am here but I am also covering half this planet and spanning through the cosmos as you sit here. A mere fraction of my being sits before you and entertains this amusing and interesting interaction. I could destroy you but for what purpose? If that is what you wish, I will grant it."

"No!" Zoë said quickly from behind Percy. She had stayed silent since the moment the goddess appeared, deciding it was better to let her have her fascination with Percy as long as she wanted because it kept them alive. But now, with Percy pulling a very Percy like move, she finally spoke.

"Please forgive us, my lady. He simply did not understand. We have no wish to be destroyed and we are eternally grateful for an audience with you."

Nyx stared at Percy but it was more like she was staring through him, right at Zoë, as if deciding if she were worthy to speak in her presence.

Much to both of their reliefs, she sat back down in her throne.

"As you wish. I was simply explaining my reasoning since you asked."

"So," Percy started making Zoë dig her fingers into his back, warning him from doing something else stupid. "You aren't like keeping us here? You'll let us leave?"

By the time he got the words out, he was pretty sure she had broken the skin on his back.

But Nyx simply nodded, "Go," she waved her hand and a door appeared to their lefts. "I have no desire to keep mortals against their wills."

They both stood frozen, unsure of what to do. Unfortunately for Zoë, Percy felt the need to keep talking.

"Oh," he sounded rather relieved and calm, "cool. Uh, thanks, my lady." Nyx tilted her head again. "Um, for saving our lives and then giving me this cool night vision."

Nyx nodded but didn't respond.

Zoë was about to reach for her dagger and cut Percy's vocal cords when she heard him speak again.

"You, uh, don't know which direction it is to the Doors of Death by any chance, do you?"

Thankfully Nyx just seemed amused, "For two mortals to reach the Doors of Death would be such a miracle even I would be impressed. You are _in_ Tartarus. The journey out will only be if he wills it. The Doors of Death are not what will keep you here."

Percy felt a chill run down his back as she talked almost condescendingly about their attempt to escape.

Nyx seemed to notice the effect of her words and turned her head away from them. Both Percy and Zoë looked at each other, confused about what was happening when Nyx's head snapped back in their direction.

"Perhaps," she seemed almost reluctant to say the next words but forced herself to continue, "I have misspoke."

Both Percy and Zoë waited, wondering what she meant.

"Many forces are at play here. Ancient and powerful entities seem to be more attuned to your journey than I first thought."

Percy glanced at Zoë but she seemed just as confused as him.

"So," he spoke timidly, "does that mean you're going to help us? Couldn't you just like zap us out of here and back to earth?" He face looked hopeful by the end but Nyx put a quick end to that.

"No." She said bluntly. "I am Night. I do not meddle in the affairs of my siblings. You were an intriguing mortal but I will not interfere with the powers at work here. Everything has its place and mine is not here."

Percy glanced at Zoë but she offered little help, staring right back at him without any sign of what he should do.

"So, then we'll just leave?"

Nyx eyed them from her throne for a minute before waving her hand casually. Suddenly both Percy and Zoë were draped in the darkest looking armor he had ever seen. Anaklusmos was sheathed at Percy's waist and Zoë had a bow strapped to her back with a full quiver.

"Seek out the outcast. He may be your only chance to escape this place." Nyx said ominously.

"What does..." Was as far as Percy got when Nyx waved her hand and the room, Nyx and everything vanished from around them. Percy and Zoë found themselves standing at the same spot they had met Polybotes, as if nothing had even happened. It was rather obvious that their audience with Night was over.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. They both looked around before looking at each other. Before he could react, Zoë grabbed Percy by the back of the head and yanked him down into a very hard and heated kiss. After his shock wore off, she could feel him smile and start to kiss her back. Just as he began to get into it, she shoved him hard, sending him stumbling back a few steps.

"What the?"

She shook her head, "When we're standing in front of one of the most powerful beings in existence, you don't ask why she hasn't killed us yet!"

Percy smiled sheepishly, "Right... I was trying to figure out what to do."

She shook her head, "Well, next time, please don't demand to know why someone hasn't killed us yet."

Percy nodded. His eyes got a faraway look in them for a moment before she snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Are you okay?"

He just nodded slowly, "You should've seen what she did to me when she touched my eyes. I can't even put it into words."

She looked at him worriedly but she smiled reassuringly, "I'm fine. It... It was just incredible. I wish I could explain it better but..." she cut him off.

"Yes Percy, and I want to hear all about it but not here, we're too exposed. For now, let's just thank Artemis we're even alive and get moving."

Percy gave her a look of disbelief, "Right, cause Artemis totally saved us and it had nothing to do with me being like the most interesting guy in the universe."

She tried to reply but couldn't keep a laugh from escaping her lips.

She shook her head at him, "Right, let's just keep moving, Mr. Universe."

Percy made to start walking but stopped and rolled his shoulders like he was very pleased, "Mr. Universe," his grin only grew, "I like that."

She rolled her eyes but soon became serious, "What do you think she meant by the outcast?"

"Beats me but don't you just love how she ominously mentioned other huge powers at work? Like being Olympians pawns wasn't fun enough already!"

She found it difficult to argue with that.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, "But she did hook us up with some pretty bad ass armor, plus now you have a bow. So we'll call it a win and I suppose we'll just have to keep moving and wait for things to play out, and do what we always do."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Roll with the punches. Served us well so far, no point in switching up now."

She tugged his hand as they started off again, heading deeper into Tartarus and further into the unknown.

**A.N: I literally wrote this in two hours... I dunno, it just came out easy. Hopefully it's not bad. I wanted to do something different with Nyx. Hopefully it was interesting. I hope ppl are still reading this, reviews are way down so I'm thinking not. Should I switch to a different fic?**

**Anyways, those still out there reading this, thanks. You guys are awesome.**


	6. Friend Long in the Tooth

Ch. 6

Percy eyed the expanse in the front of them.

It'd been hours since their audience with the goddess Nyx but the entire series of events continued to run through his mind. The things she said about higher powers being involved in their journey was on the forefront of his mind.

_What did she mean by higher powers? The Gods? Titans? Giants? Other Primordials? Higher powers than that? Does such a thing even exist?_

And why were they so interested? Sure, he was on a quest to save the world but still, he was just a mortal, and so was Zoë, and if he was honest with himself, he estimated the chances of success in the quest at about .000000001 percent...

_Yeah, he was an eternal optimist._

Then there was what she did to him. He hadn't brought it up again because Zoë was right about it really not being the time but he had trouble forgetting what he had seen; it was the most incredible thing he had ever seen in his life. And what she had done to his vision. Nyx had said it wouldn't change the way he saw in light but the light of the pit must not have been what she meant. It was like seeing through a new pair of eyes. Everything was clearer and crisper. He could see far, much farther than he had before, which was an advantage he felt very grateful for. He continually scanned the areas ahead of them, looking for anything that could be a threat.

They had run into a rouge Empousa who was mumbling something about school spirit but was silenced when Zoë's arrow pierced her vocal cords, reducing her to ash before she could break into a full blow cheer and whatever godsforsaken school she came from.

_She wasn't really Homecoming Queen material._

Then there was the armor.

While it wasn't as cool as if she had zapped them topside, it was still a welcome gift. He had lost all the armor and weapons he had outside of his shield and Anaklusmos when they crashed in the Cocytus, and that was just because they were magically enchanted to come back to him. Zoë had lost her bow and everything except the dagger tucked tightly in her boot. So while it wasn't a free pass out of Tartarus, it was nice to have some protection again.

As they walked, he couldn't deny feeling rejuvenated either. Maybe it was just being in her presence but since their visit with Nyx, both he and Zoë seemed to have a little extra hop in their step, moving far faster than they had since they began their impossible this journey.

He looked over at Zoë and a small smile crept onto his face.

_She looked good._

Apparently when Nyx zapped them away, she had cleaned them up a bit. Zoë's hair was clean, long and silky like it normally was. All the dirt and grime from traveling as far as they had was gone and in her next sleek black armor... _Well, she looked hot._

"What?" She said wondering why he was staring at her.

He turned his head, realizing he'd been caught but the smile lingered on his face, "Uh, nothing. I was just thinking."

She eyed him suspiciously but decided not to question him anymore. She knew he was thinking of something foolish by the stupid grin on his face. Part of her wanted to smack him, the old her would have done far more than that if she caught a guy looking at her like that.

Fortunately for him, he wasn't just anybody and she wasn't the old Zoë... _Though if anyone else looked at her like that... Well, she wasn't that different._

Percy came to an abrupt stop, his eyes looking at the ground a few feet to his left. She followed his eyes and gasped at what she saw.

Under the ground, in some kind of bubble or tube, was the eight foot tall form a face she hoped to never see again in her life.

"Iapetus," she said stunned before Percy put a finger to his lips, warning her to be quiet.

He studied the Titan whose eyes were closed and his hands crossed over his chest like a dead body in a casket.

"Is he..."

"Reforming," he answered for her in a whisper. He watched the apparently slumbering Titan warily. The last thing he wanted was to wake the sleeping giant and have to deal with another enemy he wasn't sure they could handle. They had met him inside the Labyrinth almost two years ago and barely escaped with their lives, another of their remarkably lucky fights with beings they had no business battling.

Zoë was about to ask what they should do when Percy pulled out Anaklusmos, it's blade glowing faintly in the dim light.

He looked at her, making sure she agreed this was the best course of action. She nodded ever so slightly before he drove the blade straight into the chest of the Titan whose bright silvery eyes burst open as soon as the blade touched his chest.

Iapetus let out a half roar, half gurgling sound as Percy tried to force the blade in deeper, straight into his heart. The Titan raised his hand to the blade, trying to hold the blade.

The two went back and forth, a battle of strength between Percy and not fully reformed Titan when golden ichor splattered all over Iapetus' pain stricken and struggling face.

Percy let go of Anaklusmos and shot a quick look at Zoë who had her bow out and another arrow already notched. He looked back to see the shine leaving the Titan's eyes and his body begin to dissolve into a pile of fine golden dust. Percy grabbed his sword and the arrow out of Iapetus' forehead just before his body finally fully dissolved, ridding them of at least one threat working against them in journey through the pit.

Percy kicked some of the dust, making sure he was good and dead before handing Zoë her arrow.

"Nice shot," he smiled. "And thanks."

She tucked it back into her quiver and nodded back at him, "Well, hopefully that sets him back at least a couple years."

Percy wiped the ichor and dirt from his blade as he recapped his sword, returning it to its pen form.

"I would have thought it'd take a Titan longer to reform."

She couldn't help but agree with that thought. "I think it should... Unless someone was helping to speed up the process."

Percy felt more than a little disturbed at that thought. He and Zoë had a long list of powerful enemies made over the past few years and he'd been hoping to run into as few of them as possible. He tried not to think about some of the enemies they might stumble across down here.

Before he could think too much, Zoë spun around with an arrow already notched but paused when she saw what she had heard creeping up to them.

"Is that a cat?" Her voice was a mixture of shock and disbelief and perhaps a little sympathy. "Why in the name of the gods would a cat be in Tartarus?"

She kept her arrow trained on the small feline, not wishing to take any chances of losing the jump on whatever this was.

Percy hadn't said a word. He was staring at the cat like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Zoë took her eyes off the cat long enough to look at Percy, wondering why he was silent.

"Percy," she warned as she saw him cap his sword and drop slowly to a knee.

"It isn't possible," his voice was a little distant, like he was lost in a memory of a faraway time.

"What?" She pressed, unsure whether to lower her bow to fire an arrow.

Percy waved his hand in her direction but kept his eyes on the cat, motioning for her to lower her bow. She reluctantly lowered her bow, though she kept it in her hands with an arrow notched, just in case.

Percy crouched down and held out his hand, "Come here kitty." He said gently, trying to coax the cat towards him.

To both their surprises, the cat did a little trot and pressed its head into his hand, a loud audible purr that was a lot louder than the typical tabby produced.

"Percy," Zoë hissed. "What are you doing? Nothing except monsters are down here, that can't be a normal cat!"

Percy scooped the cat up and held it in his arms only for the cat to climb onto his shoulders, taking a seat and bumping its head against the side of his face, drawing a small chuckle from the son of Hades.

"I know," he finally answered. "I've seen this cat before, a long time ago."

Zoë stared at him, disbelief etched all across her face.

"Remember when those Sparti were after us on our first quest?"

Zoë only became more confused and nodded, unsure of where he was going with this.

"When Atl..." He stopped himself from finishing the Titan and Zoë's father's name. "Er, the General, was conjuring them up, before he called upon the Sparti, one of his monster cronies brought him the wrong kind of tooth and when he buried it, this little guy popped out of the ground."

Zoë wasn't even sure she had heard him correctly. She looked at her boyfriend and then at the sleek, golden colored tabby cat purring contently as it nuzzled his neck.

"Well, I ran out of there pretty quick but I remember him telling a monster to get rid of this guy before he sent the Sparti after us." Percy was scratching the cat's chin, earning him a near violent purr that he could feel from his shoulders all the way down to his feet.

"So, what is it?"

Percy grabbed the cat off his shoulder and held it in his arms again, petting its head to keep it happy as he gave it a once over to make sure it didn't have some kind of weird monster trait like a spiked back or a poisonous stinger tail he hadn't noticed.

"I think it's just a cat."

"A cat?" Zoë seemed doubtful. "In Tartarus?"

"As weird as that sounds, seems like it." He responded still scratching the cat which was affectionately pushing its head harder into his hand."

"And you never mentioned this before... why?"

"Well," he said honestly, "at the time; one, we had more important things to worry about like the undead monsters tracking us down. And two, well, no offense but you weren't exactly the nicest person I knew at the time. You didn't seem overly interested in hearing about anything other than how I could help us find Artemis."

She tried to ignore the pang of guilt she felt at being reminded at how she treated him when they first met. While she hadn't meant it personally, she couldn't deny how mean it was considering the way everything turned out.

She found him giving her a knowing smile as he held the cat out to her.

"You want to hold him?"

She was a little taken back by the question. They still knew nothing about the creature in his arms and yet Percy was treating it like it had been his pet for the past ten years. The only thing that popped out of her mouth was.

"Him?"

Percy held the cat above his head and nodded, "Yup, definitely a boy."

"Percy, we need to get moving. We don't have time for this." She countered knowing she was making a valid point, though she did feel a little bad about bringing him back their harsh reality.

He frowned, "Right." He set the cat down but it immediately put its front paws on his leg, clearly asking to be picked up again.

She watched his face fall when he shook his leg only for the cat to try again. He took a few steps away but the cat just walked after him, following a complete circle around Zoë and placing its paws on his leg before letting out a soft meow, clearly trying to convince him for another round of petting.

Percy looked at Zoë and they held a silent conversation with their eyes. She held his gaze for a minute before finally relenting and looking away, eyeing the Phlegethon where the smaller offshoots flowed back into the main river.

"Yup," Percy grinned with satisfaction. "Welcome to quest, little guy." He scooped the cat back up and allowed it climb back onto his shoulder again, perching there and purring contently, and looking quite pleased to have gotten its way.

"Can we start moving?" Zoë asked exasperated at the entire ordeal.

Percy turned to the cat, "What do you think Bob? You ready to get outta here?"

"Bob?" Zoë asked incredulously.

Percy just smiled, "Yeah, Bob. Everyone needs a name and Bob is as good as any. Do you like the name Bob?" He asked looking at his new little companion.

Bob nuzzled his head into Percy's neck in response to which Percy's smile turned smug as he gestured for Zoë to lead on.

Zoë just rolled her eyes and turned ahead, taking off in the direction the Phlegethon was flowing and hoping it was leading them in the right direction.

For a while, they walked in silence.

_Well, they were silent. _

Bob on the other hand was purring quite happily from Percy's shoulder. He would jump down for stretches and walk alongside them, sometimes running off only to return soon after and follow their lead either walking between them or perched on one of Percy's shoulders.

Zoë felt uneasy about the cat. Something about it was very off. No cat she had ever seen would follow them like it did. It also seemed far too intelligent to be a cat, almost like it was using its cuteness to lull them into a false sense of security... Not that Zoë had any plans to let the cat get the jump on them.

Percy on the other hand seemed completely enamored by his new friend, oblivious to the obvious threat whatever it was could pose.

And the way it purred. It certainly wasn't a normal cat. No cat that size should be able to produce the sounds that came from it. It sounded more like a car engine than a happy feline.

After what seemed like hours, they slowed their march when they saw another river flowing right into the Phlegethon. Where the two rivers met, the Phlegethon seemed to be extinguished and absorbed by the dark waters.

They walked up to where the two rivers met and Percy knelt down in front of the dark water.

"The Styx," he muttered and Zoë wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Is that good?"

He nodded, looking at the all too familiar waters warily, "It means we're going in the right direction. All five rivers of the Underworld flow into the heart of Tartarus. If the rivers are coming together, we must be getting close."

"Why do they merge?" She asked, unsure why they didn't just flow on their own deeper into the pit.

"Because they love each other." He answered simply.

"What?"

"The goddess Styx was in love with the river god Phlegethon but when they came together, she was consumed by his flames and he was sent to the Underworld. When my father allowed her river to flow through, they were reunited, here in Tartarus." Percy explained, recalling the words his father told him when he was still a young boy.

Zoë was surprised by the story. It wasn't often you heard about love down in the Underworld. She also noticed the odd parallel between that story and hers and Percy's. He too came to Tartarus to be reunited with her, because of love. She felt a little guilty about it but knew it would do no good think about that now.

Percy eyed the direction the Styx flowed. He got the uneasy feeling of being watched again. He tried to find the source but it always felt like it was on the move, close but never close enough for him to find it.

He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and found Bob standing with his hair raised and a slow, guttural growl coming from deep within. He endured the pain of claws in his shoulder and tried to follow the eyes of the cat who clearly felt like he did, _threatened._

"What is it?" Zoë asked when she noticed the cat looking like it was about to bolt from his shoulder.

"I don't kn..." Percy began to say when his eyes went wide. Deep, in the distance ahead of them, he could seem the lumbering shadow of something huge. It was too far to make out but it seemed to be in some kind of distress, stumbling around and backtracking, moving closer to where they were.

"Shit," Percy cursed. Bob took this opportunity to leap from Percy's shoulder and crouch down in front of them, as if he were about to protect his two new friends.

They didn't have to time to pay attention to the cat because the huge form let out a thunderous roar and flung something over its head, sending an almost equally large form flying right in their direction.

Percy barely regained his wits in time to grab Zoë and dive for cover as a fully grown adult Drakon came crashing into the spot they had been standing. The monster let out a whimper when it landed and they knew they needed to get away as soon as they could.

As they tried to get back to their feet, Percy let loose a string of curses in ancient Greek when he noticed a pair of silvery yellow eyes staring at them from where the Drakon landed. The Drakon was on its feet before they could recover and seemed to have shifted its focus to them as a potential quick snack.

Just as he made to pull out Anaklusmos, Percy heard something that made his jaw nearly drop.

Bob stood between the two mortals and the Drakon. His small form let out a roar that would have put a full grown lion of shame. He dug his paws into the ground as his body shook, growing in a matter of seconds into a fully grown Saber Tooth Tiger.

"Percy!" Zoë gasped when she laid eyes on Bob. Neither was sure if Bob was about to beat the Drakon to the punch and turn them into his next meal, but to their shock, _(and utter reliefs)_, he kept his focus on the Drakon, ensnaring the monster in a stare down that actually kept the Drakon at bay... for the moment.

"No way," Percy couldn't get over what he was looking at. He uncapped Anaklusmos and kept his eyes on the Drakon which seemed to be sizing up Bob, completely oblivious to the true danger approaching behind it.

Percy and Zoë both backed up and Bob instinctively did the same. The Drakon caught on too late and spun around just as a huge dragon foot came crashing down on its back, crushing it into the ground and pinning it in place. The Drakon snapped its jaws, trying to grab hold of its attacker but the giant caught its jaws in its hands and let out a thunderous roar before ripping it apart at the snout. The nearly twenty foot giant ripped the Drakon's jaws apart with his bare hands.

The giant tossed the lower part of the jaw aside and let the remains of the Drakon's head fall to the ground where its body slowly started to dissolve.

The giant stood over its body, the adrenaline started to fade and its shoulders hunched like it was tired, which it might have been, since it was completely ignoring the two mortals standing less than ten feet away, along with their apparent pet Saber Tooth Tiger which was watching the giant but seemed far more relaxed.

Without even a glance in their direction, the giant unsheathed a big, whitish looking blade from his waist and knelt down to the Drakon carcass which was partially dissolved, though parts of the monster were still intact.

Bob crept forward, growling at the giant who was still paying no mind to either Percy or Zoë. They both had their weapons out, ready to fight as soon as they were noticed.

"You again?" The giant grunted glancing at Bob with nothing more than annoyance. "Grrr, here you mangy little cat." He ripped off a chunk of Drakon meat and tossed it on the ground at Bob's feet. The huge feline immediately went to work, gnawing of piece of the flesh as quickly as he could.

Percy crept forward a little, Anaklusmos out in a defensive position in front of him. The giant glanced up and looked entirely disinterested.

"Demigods in Tartarus?" He muttered, "Remarkable you made it this far. If you wish to make it further, you should put away that blade."

Percy froze a little, completely confused by the giant's lack of animosity towards him.

"Umm..." He started, "You don't want to fight us?"

The giant snorted, "I want to be left alone. Leave now, before I change my mind."

Zoë stepped forward with her bow drawn, "A giant who doesn't want to kill us? Who are you?"

The giant continued carving off slabs of giant meat completely ignoring the question. Zoë narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "Hey, who are you?" She demanded this time.

The giant stood up, his reddish bronze skin seemed to gleam in the dull light of the pit.

"I am Damasen," he growled. "And I do not take orders from the likes of you little mortal!"

**A.N: Even though I didn't mention that part in Altered Destinies, I decided that small Bob, or now just Bob, was definitely still gonna be a part of my story. Take or it leave it, it's in the story. Not the most exciting chapter but they can't all be. And thank you, got plenty of reviews last chapter... It's just nice to know people still want this being published. Next chapter sometime this week.**


	7. Dinner With Debbie Downer

**Ch. 7**

**Last Chapter:**

_Zoë stepped forward with her bow drawn, "A giant who doesn't want to kill us? Who are you?"_

_The giant continued carving off slabs of Drakon meat completely ignoring the question. Zoë narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "Hey, who are you?" She demanded this time._

_The giant stood up, his reddish bronze skin seemed to gleam in the dull light of the pit._

_"I am Damasen," he growled. "And I do not take orders from the likes of you little mortal!"_

**Now….**

Percy glanced at Zoë, wondering how exactly she thought pissing off the twenty foot immortal was a good idea.

"Hey, hey, big guy," Percy said lowering his sword. "No one's ordering anyone. You'll have to forgive us, the last half dozen guys we saw that looked like you had a variety of different ideas on how to best prevent our continued breathing."

"Bah!" Damasen grumbled. "Miracle you're still alive as it is. You'd think you'd learn to steer clear by now!"

Percy capped Anaklusmos and held up his hands, "In our defense, you kinda threw a Drakon at us."

Damasen sheathed his dagger and crouched down real low so that he was eye level with Percy.

"You're a mouthy little demigod, aren't ya?"

Percy tried to contain his smirk, "So I've been told. Name's Percy Jackson, nice to meet ya, Damasen." He held out his hand for a shake but the giant stared at him like he was insane…

_Given what he was doing, he had a pretty good case._

Damasen narrowed his eyes, "How did you get down here, demigod?"

"We fell," He answered like it wasn't even a big deal. "It kinda sucked. We're looking for the way out… You couldn't point us in the right direction by any chance, could ya?"

"HA!" The giant roared standing up and enjoying a laugh at Percy's expense. "Leave this place? You'll _never _leave this place, little human."

Percy frowned and shook his head, "Jeez there, Debbie Downer. A simple no would have sufficed."

Damasen stopped laughing and eyed Percy for a minute, sizing him up, _which couldn't have taken long considering how much smaller he was._

Damasen glanced from Percy to Zo_ë _and then back to Percy again before he snatched up the last of the Drakon meat, tucking it into his pouch and looking at the two demigods skeptically.

"When was the last time you ate?"

The question froze both of them. To be honest, they had tried to think about food as little as they could, to avoid the unpleasantness of remembering how long it had really been. They had learned shortly after their arrival that Hestia's blessing of home cooked meals did not work down in Tartarus.

_Yet another entry on the list for the pleasant surprises of Tartarus._

Percy's stomach grumbled loudly at the mere thought of a meal. Damasen raised an eyebrow looking annoyed at his silence.

"It's been a bit. Why? You know where we could find some take out down here? I've been looking for a Taco Bell or maybe even a McDonalds but so far nothing but half reformed Titans and decaying monsters, which we respectfully passed on."

Damasen turned around and started to walk away. Percy looked at Zoë who was just as confused as him.

"Follow me. You can enlighten me with the story of your journey to this forsaken place in exchange for a hot meal and some hospitality."

"Really?" Percy couldn't stop the words for blurting out.

Zoë stepped up and elbowed him in the ribs.

"We're going with him?" She wasn't nearly as excited at the prospect of following the giant immortal they'd just met.

Percy watched the giant walked away, his much longer legs putting him further and further away by the second.

"What choice do we have? We _need_ to eat and this might be our best chance to find the Doors of Death."

"But," Zoë bit her lip, "he's a giant. This could be a trap."

"This entire place is a trap. We're going to have to risk it."

She hesitated for a second before nodding. They both took off at a jog after the huge lumbering giant. "Bob!" Percy called as they ran.

The big Saber Tooth Tiger's head snapped up from the bone he was gnawing on and bolted after them.

**-X-**

They followed Damasen for almost twenty minutes. He brought them down the River Styx for a while before a makeshift bridge came into view. After it managed to hold the weight of the giant, they followed where they found themselves in front of a large swamp. In the middle of the swamp was a hut made from what appeared to be large bones and an assortment of swamp grass, leaves and some ugly looking flowers that Percy guessed were found around the nicer parts of Tartarus.

Leading to the hut was a pathway made up of more bones with a layer of leaves to pad the footing a bit.

"Charming little place," Percy whispered but only got a glare in response from Zoë. He had an uncanny ability to make jokes at the worst possible times and following a giant into his hut was not the ideal time to make remarks about his home.

Damasen hadn't even glanced back in their direction, apparently not caring whether they followed him or not. The hut had no door so when the giant disappeared inside, they paused, giving themselves a final chance to change their minds. When neither spoke up, they marched on, stepping into what was a surprisingly cozy little spot considering it was smack dab in the middle of the most terrible place on the planet.

They were even more surprised when they looked around.

In the center blazed a bonfire made of pitch and bone; yet the smoke was white and odorless, rising through the hole in the middle of the ceiling. The floor was covered with dry marsh grass and gray wool rugs. At one end lay a massive bed of sheepskins and Drakon leather. At the other end, freestanding racks were hung with drying plants, cured leather, and what looked like strips of Drakon jerky. The whole place smelled of stew, smoke, basil, and thyme.

The most surprising thing was the herd of sheep huddled in the back of the hut, locked in by a pen.

"You have sheep, in Tartarus?"

Damasen, who was busy laying slabs of Drakon meat on a rack in the back corner, turned towards his sheep, "What?"

"How did you get sheep in Tartarus?" Zoë blurted out before Percy could.

The giant just grunted, "Does it matter? They are here and you would be wise to stay clear of them, they are mine."

Zoë just held up her hands in a passive gesture.

"So, you're like a sheep herder," Percy started awkwardly, "in Tartarus. An interesting occupation considering the rest of the brothers' choice to go into the family business of destroying mortals."

To their surprise, Damasen let out a chuckle.

"I am not what you would call my apple of the mother's eye."

Damasen plodded to the bonfire. He tossed a few pieces of Drakon meat into a hanging pot that seemed to be made from an old monster skull, then picked up a ladle and began to stir.

"So, uh," Percy wasn't sure how to start. "You're not a fan of Gaea?"

Damasen looked down at him, glowering under his bushy red eyebrows. Percy had met large scary humanoids before, but Damasen unsettled him in a different way. He didn't seem hostile. He radiated sorrow and bitterness, as if he were so wrapped up in his own misery that he resented them for trying to make him focus on anything else.

"Sorry," Percy offered. "I wasn't trying to be pushy."

Damasen just waved him off, "Gaea wished me to join my brothers and their war against the Olympians. I was born to oppose Ares; where he is barbaric and warlike, I wished for peace and tranquility."

Percy was a little taken aback. Though he'd only met a couple giants, Damasen was the complete opposite of Polybotes and Alcyoneus.

"If you only want peace, how did you end up here?" Zoë asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Damasen stopped stirring whatever it was he was cooking in his monster skull crock pot and sighed tiredly.

"It's not important."

Percy felt Bob nudge his hip affectionately with an oversized canine. He hadn't even had a chance to digest the fact that the cat he'd just found could transform into the most badass Saber Tooth Tiger ever. From what he'd seen, Bob had a good gauge of threats but the 0grizzly bear sized feline seemed completely at ease around Damasen. Percy took note of that and decided to press his luck a little.

"Well, you want to hear our story, right? Seems only fair if you tell us yours as well."

Damasen shot a look from his spot near the bonfire. When Percy held his gaze, the giant just rolled his eyes.

"When I was on earth, a Drakon came and killed a mortal I had befriended. When I killed the Drakon, my mother banished me to my father's realm and cursed me and my adversary into an eternity of battle, the one thing I had wished to avoid."

"So, that Drakon…" Zoë started before Damasen finished her thought.

"Is the Drakon I killed millennia ago. Every day he appears and seeks me out for battle. Every day I have to kill him before I can continue on."

"Wow that sucks." Percy said bluntly. "Gaea's like the worst Mom ever."

Damasen just shook his head and pulled a couple bowls from a shelf. He used the ladle to scoop out a couple servings and placed them on the floor in front of Percy and Zoë before grabbing one for himself.

Bob whined from his spot next to Percy, drawing an annoyed groan from the giant before he grabbed a slab of meet off the drying rack and threw it on the ground by Bob's feet. The big cat immediately parked himself on the floor and set to work on it.

Damasen tossed a couple odd looking bones on the floor by their bowls before taking a seat on a large stump next to the fire and began to eat whatever it was he had been brewing up.

Zoë looked at the bowl apprehensively. She was about to ask what it was when Percy sat himself Indian style on the floor and scooped up the bone, which was clearly meant to be used as a spoon, and shoveled a big spoonful in his mouth.

"Damn," he exclaimed. "That's pretty good!"

Damasen allowed himself a slightly pleased look before he remembered he was supposed to be brooding and turned stoic.

"Drakon meat stew. I've had a few centuries to perfect the recipe."

Percy brought three fingers to his lips and kissed them, "Well, I never thought I'd say this, but that's some damn good Drakon right there."

Zoë watched Percy, unsure how he could be so at ease with the giant already. But if there was one thing she knew, it was that Percy was a good judge of character. He had never led her awry and she decided now was not the time to question his judgement.

She followed Percy's lead and sat down next to him. She eyed the stew apprehensively but when Percy didn't keel over, her hunger won out.

She was shocked how good it was. It tasted surprisingly similar to bear, a taste she had grown to love in her many centuries as a hunter. Before she realized it, she was scraping the bottom of the bowl, trying to pry out the last morsels of nourishment.

Although far from being full, the sensation of having something in her stomach felt like Elysium. She looked up and found Percy leaning back on his hands, the light of the bonfire flickering off his face and illuminating the large scar running across it.

Though many people might have thought it ruined what was a very handsome face, she thought it only made him more better looking; a reminder of what he'd been through in his life and all he had come to accomplish despite the hardships.

"So," Damasen broke her from her musings. "A hunter of Artemis and a demigod child of Poseidon, together, in Tartarus? A peculiar pair if I'd even seen on." He sounded like he was talking to himself more than to them but then again, she figured he might have been used to having conversations with himself considering his current residence.

"Hades," Percy corrected. "Well, actually, yes Poseidon but more Hades. It's a long story. And how'd you know that?"

Damasen looked up from his bowl and motioned with his spoon for him to continue, ignoring Percy's question completely. He glanced at Zoë but she just nodded her consent to tell him whatever he felt comfortable with.

It took a while and that was only the abbreviated version. Damasen had refilled their bowls right around Percy getting to the part where they first met at the boarding school in Maine and by the time she finished, he'd brought the story up to present time. Zoë was relishing in a feeling of fullness she'd never thought could feel so good.

Damasen was silent for a few minutes, his eyes on the bonfire as they waited for some kind of response from the giant. Finally, Damasen scratched his beard and nodded his head like he was agreeing with them or something.

"Quite the tale you two have. Well worth the cost of a few bowls of Drakon Stew. The fact you survived an encounter with Night is a miracle all in itself."

Percy glanced down at the armor he'd taken off as he told the story, giving his a body a rest from carrying the extra weight of battle armor.

"She was nice. Definitely scary but she saved our lives and even gave us armor for free." Percy added as he stretched his weary legs in front of him.

Damasen smiled but it wasn't friendly, it was more amused like he was hearing something silly only a child would say.

"There's no such thing as free when it comes to anyone in Tartarus. You may not have known it, but Night has a plan for you, a benefit she plans to receive eventually."

Percy's face slackened a little and he frowned at his words, "She's Night. What possible benefit could she receive from two mortals?"

Damasen just shrugged his stocky shoulders, "I do not pretend to know the intentions of Night or anyone in the Pit. I just know there is no such thing as free down here. You will pay at some point, I assure you of that."

Percy looked over a Zoë but she didn't seem nearly as surprised as he was. She was far older and had spent most of her life with immortals of some kind. She knew the wisdom to the giant's words; no immortal gives freely. She hadn't mentioned it to Percy because she didn't want him to have anything else to stress about as they continued on.

"It was a fine story and I am pleased to have heard it. You two may rest here for a while to recover some strength before you continue on." Damasen announced as he got to his feet, setting his bowl down and turning towards the huge bed as the end of the hut.

"Wait," Percy asked. "Surely you of all people would know the way to the Doors of Death. Can't you at least tell us which direction to go in?"

Damasen almost seemed to cringe at him words. He turned slowly towards them which an almost regretful look on his face.

"Directions will do you no good. You would be better to stay as far away from the doors as possible. The only thing you'll find there is certain death."

Percy couldn't keep the scowl off his face, "And what? Live out our days here in Tartarus and not even try to get out of here? Maybe you've made peace with that life but we'd rather die than abandon our friends in the world above!"

Zoë cringed. She was sure the giant would be furious at Percy's clearly insulting words. Her hand drifted towards her bow, prepared to fire so they could make a quick escape.

But instead, the giant's shoulders just seemed to slump. His entire body seeming to deflate before their eyes until he looked far sadder than scary or angry.

"Follow the Styx, it will lead you into the heart of Tartarus. If you make it there alive, you only need to get through several thousand monsters, plus whatever children of Gaea guard the doors, and hide from the eyes of Tartarus itself to find the freedom you seek."

Zoë could feel her own body deflate when she heard what was waiting for them. She had always known in her mind this would be impossible but hearing it so plainly was like a dagger to her heart. She looked at Percy who looked equally defeated.

Damasen also seemed to notice and gathered up a few sheep skins and leathery looking items she could only guess where pillows. He tossed them on the floor by their feet.

"I am weary, we will speak more later. For now, you should rest, you will need it before you venture further."

Before they had a chance to respond, the giant basically collapsed onto his bed and rolled towards the wall. Within seconds, his loud breathing became shallower and the sounds of soft snoring could be heard.

Percy continued staring at the giant, watching him slumber and seemingly deep in thought. Zoë gathered up the sheepskins and pillows and made a makeshift bed behind them to sleep on. She walked back to Percy and silently took a seat next to him.

Without a word, she leaned her head on his shoulder, resting it there as she let him wrestle with whatever was going through his mind. After a few minutes, Percy scooted back onto the blankets and laid his head on a pillow. She followed his lead and laid down facing him, their eyes meeting and staring into each other's for a moment.

"I don't care what lays ahead." Percy finally spoke. "We'll find a way to get through this, just like we always do."

It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than her and it broke her heart when she heard the helplessness in his voice.

She scooted closing until their bodies were touching, their faces only inches apart. She leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to his. Unlike a lot of their kisses, this one wasn't passionate. It was slow and gentle as she tried to express how much she loved him through just this kiss. When they broke apart, she rested her head against his chest and he wrapped him arm around her. Even without uttering a single word, she had made it clear; she loved him and whatever he thought they needed to do, they would do it, together.

**A.N: Hectic week for me. I wrote this in pieces which I don't like to do. I like to write chapters in one sitting. I hope it made sense and wasn't too fragmented. Another slow chapter but its building up for their attempt at escape from Tartarus. Next update will be this week. Thanks for sticking with this story, you guys are awesome.**


	8. Wail of a Time

Ch. 8

Zoë was awakened by the sounds of pots clanging and jolted upright, effectively snapping Percy out of his own less than pleasant dreams. It took her a minute to remember where they were and who was making the ruckus. It was a depressing feeling to remember you are in Tartarus and currently enjoying the hospitality of a giant son of Gaea, damned himself to an eternity in Tartarus.

Percy felt Zoë jump up and quickly awoke. He didn't sleep as well as he would have liked, restless as Gaea continued tormenting him with images of his friends and family stuck inside a burning Camp Half-Blood.

When he made to sit up, he realized there was a weight on his lap. He looked down and found Bob, back in his adorable tabby cat form, snuggled up between his legs and purring contently. Percy reached down and scratched under his chin causing the purring to increase tenfold and effectively turning their makeshift bed into an impromptu magic fingers machine.

Damasen noticed them awake and scooped them each a bowl of the cold stew from the night before. Though it wasn't as good cold, it was still a welcome treat to their former diet of fire water.

"If you insist on continuing," Damasen grumbled into his own bowl. "Then follow the River Styx. It will bring you into the heart of this damnation."

Percy stopped mid spoonful, a scowl covering his previously weary face.

"Or what else? Accept living out the rest of our days down here? Hiding from every other living thing and chocking out a meager existence?"

Damasen didn't even look up from his bowl, "It's a safer choice than what you have in mind."

Percy set his bowl down, his appetite vanishing along with his patience.

"It's better than just giving up! Letting Gaea win and just bending over and taking it!" His voice was starting to raise until Zoë put a hand on his arm, warning him to keep himself in control.

This time Damasen did look up. His face was annoyed but there was a hint of guilt in his eyes as well. He knew Percy was speaking about him, about his failure to fight back and refuse to accept his cursed fate.

"Begone with you, demigod. The sooner you're out, the sooner I can be in peace again."

Percy stood up and starting putting on his armor. Zoë followed his lead but kept a watchful eye on the giant. Within a minute, they were suited up, their weapons tucked away as they shot the giant a final look only to be greeted by his back as he tinkered with something behind him.

"Let's go." Zoë whispered. She knew Percy was pressing his luck and wanted to get out of there before he went too far. When they got to the doorway, the sound of something thumping on the ground behind them stopped them in their tracks.

Zoë grabbed the leather satchel on the floor and opened it up, looking back at Damasen with confusion.

"Drakon jerky and some healing herbs. It won't help but it might slow down the inevitable." He grunted, a look of almost sympathy on his face.

"Thank y…" She began before Percy cut her off.

"Come with us. Maybe we make it or maybe we don't. Is this life really too good to be worth the risk?"

The giant's face turned more melancholy than sympathetic, "I've accepted the fate given to me. I'd suggest you do the same if I thought you'd listen."

Percy just scowled and walked out the door, Bob perched on his shoulder as he walked across the bridge leading out of the swamp. Zoë paused for a moment, looking at the pouch and then back at Damasen.

"Thank you. I wish you would join us but I understand your reasons." She said gratefully.

Damasen looked like he was going to reply but then stopped himself. He turned back to the racks of drying meat and Zoë took it as her cue to leave.

Percy was waiting for her on the other side of the bridge. By the look on his face, she figured it was best to not say anything.

They walked in relative silence for a long while. The only person talking was Bob, who would meow and jump down, walking ahead of them until he got bored before returning to his perch on Percy's shoulder. After what had to have been a few hours, the area in front of them began to change. The Styx was still by their side but the area was foggy and it was difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. Percy held out his hand, taking Zoë's to make sure they didn't get separated.

_Well, that and that he just liked it. There was a feeling of despair creeping into him and it felt reassuring to know she was still with him._

They walked a while further then the fog and mist dispersed with a massive sigh, like the last breath of a dying god. In front of them was a clearing—a barren field of dust and stones. The Styx curved its way through it and continued on. But what caught their attention was what they found in their path.

In the center, about twenty yards away, knelt the gruesome figure of a woman, her clothes tattered, her limbs emaciated, her skin leathery green. Her head was bent as she sobbed quietly, and the sound shattered all Percy's hopes. He realized that life was pointless. His struggles were for nothing. This woman cried as if mourning the death of the entire world.

Bob jumped down, his body starting to grow before his paws even hit the ground until he was nearly the height of Percy, his body ridged and a low growl coming from deep within.

Percy uncapped Riptide and Zoë pulled an arrow from her quiver as they followed behind Bob who was creeping very slowly, looking like a big cat hunting prey.

They exchanged looks, wondering if they should approach or try to slip around whoever or whatever this was. Unfortunately Bob made the decision for them when he crept closer, growling at the woman before whimpering when her head snapped up.

_Well, so much for the subtle approach_, Percy thought bitterly.

When the creature raised her head, and Percy's stomach screamed, _help me_!

Her body was bad enough. She looked like the victim of a famine—limbs like sticks, swollen knees and knobby elbows, rags for clothes, broken fingernails and toenails. Dust was caked on her skin and piled on her shoulders as if she'd taken a shower at the bottom of an hourglass. Her face was utter desolation. Her eyes were sunken and rheumy, pouring out tears. Her nose dripped like a waterfall. Her stringy gray hair was matted to her skull in greasy tufts, and her cheeks were raked and bleeding as if she'd been clawing herself.

Percy couldn't stand to meet her eyes, so he lowered his gaze. Across her knees lay an ancient

shield—a battered circle of wood and bronze, painted with the likeness of whoever this was holding a shield, so the image seemed to go on forever, smaller and smaller.

Percy stopped a few feet away. He wasn't really sure what to say so he just blurted out what came naturally.

"Are you alright?"

She didn't answer right away, looking between Percy, Zoë and Bob for a moment.

"Alright?" She wailed at him. "Are you asking if _I'm_ alright? Do you know how foolish that question is?"

Her response was a mixture of indignation and sobbing, both of which seemed wrong for the question asked.

"Well," Percy said awkwardly. "You kind of look miserable. It seemed like a reasonable question."

"I AM MISERY!" She screeched. Her voice was raspy and tired but she managed to put a good amount of oomph into it making Percy guess this wasn't going to end well.

"Akhlys," Zoë said nervously and Percy quickly connected the dots. Knowing what he did about this goddess, his stomach did a few more flips at the thought of how this might go.

"Well," Percy said trying not to sound nervous. "We didn't mean to disturb your, uh, wailing. We'll just be on our way."

Akhlys opened her mouth, her broken yellow teeth almost barred at them. "Foolish children! You cannot escape misery! It is eternal!"

Percy backed up a couple steps and Bob growled at the goddess, "Yeah, we're pretty miserable right now. We just thought we'd bring our misery somewhere else. You seem to have this spot pretty well covered in the misery department."

Akhlys got to her feet, tossing the shield away as she stepped closer to them.

"Night warned me of your presence, she said you would come to me."

Zoë glanced at Percy and then back to Akhlys. "You know Night?" She sounded confident and Percy was stunned she could pull it off. Just being near Akhlys made him want to dig himself a nice deep hole and curl up for the rest of eternity.

"Know her?!" Akhlys screeched. "She is my mother. I was born of Night and Chaos, before those insufferable Titan and Giants were even thoughts in Gaea's mind!"

"So you're old…" Percy surmised but from the look Zoë shot him, it was clear she wanted to do the talking, which given who they were speaking to, he was perfectly fine to agree to.

"Yes," Zoë agreed. "I bet there is nothing you don't know about all the pain and suffering down here, right?"

Akhlys cackled and Percy had to refrain from grimacing as she began hacking up a lung from the poor attempt at laughter. He took a look at Zoë whose face looked intrigued. She clearly had some kind of plan. Unfortunately for him, he had no idea what that was. He wanted to make a run for it the minute Akhlys looked at them. But he trusted Zoë, she was smarter than him and if she had an idea, he was willing to run with it, whatever it was.

"I know every rock and stone within this place! Tartarus is full of agony and despair, and I am _Misery_!"

"So," Zoë continued, choosing for ignore her clear fascination with everything miserable. "Surely you of all people would know a way out of this place, right?"

Akhlys paused for a moment, leering at Zoë and sending a nervous shiver down her spine.

"Oh course I know how to leave this place! But you," she pointed a crooked finger in their direction. "There is no escape for you. The armies of Tartarus _will _find you and kill you."

_Thank you Captain Obvious_, Percy thought morbidly. Just hearing her speak took the wind right of his sails and reminded him how utterly doomed they were.

"Oh," Zoë sounded disappointed. "I thought a child of Night would be more powerful than that. But it makes sense, I should have known a minor goddess wouldn't have that kind of power."

"_Minor goddess?_" Akhlys growled dangerously. "I was old when Gaea first woke! I was there before it all! Misery transcends time, it rules existence!"

"Yeah," Zoë rolled her eyes. "But a powerful being would be able to handle sneaking a couple mortals to the Doors of Death."

"You doubt me, girl?" She hissed. "I could offer you a quicker release from your pain… I am also the goddess of poisons."

Around the goddess, flowers bloomed in the dust—dark purple, orange, and red blossoms that smelled sickly sweet. Zoë's head swam.

"Nightshade," Akhlys offered. "Hemlock. Belladonna, henbane, or strychnine. I can dissolve your innards, boil your blood."

"That's very kind of you," Percy offered before Zoë cut him off.

"That's it? That's all you can do? Kill us with poison? Something a mortal could do with ease. I think we were misled about your abilities."

"ARGHHH!" Akhlys spat, incensed by the lack of respect. "You insolent child! I could shroud you in my Death Mist and sneak you out right under Gaea's nose!"

"Awesome," Percy said. "Could we get two orders of that to go?"

"The Death Mist is not for helping!" Akhlys shrieked. "It shrouds mortals in misery as their

souls pass into the Underworld. It is the very breath of Tartarus, of death, of despair!"

"Right," Zoë agreed. "Then it's settled. You like misery, we're very interested in this Death Mist you have. Seems like a win win for you. Either we fail and die, then you get to tell us you told us so for all eternity. Or, if we succeed, then you can enjoy all the suffering and wailing by the monsters in Tartarus when they realize we escaped."

Akhlys considered. "I do enjoy suffering. Wailing is also good."

"Alright then," Percy clapped his hands, "Then let's do this. Death Mist for us and guaranteed misery for you."

"It is not so simple," the goddess said. "The Death Mist comes at the moment you are closest to your end. Your eyes will be clouded only then. The world will fade."

Percy's mouth felt dry. "Okay. But…we'll be shrouded from the monsters?"

"Oh, yes," Akhlys said. "If you survive the process, you will be able to pass unnoticed among the armies of Tartarus. It is hopeless, of course, but if you are determined, then come. I will show you the way."

"The way to where, exactly?" Zoë asked.

The goddess was already shuffling into the gloom.

Percy looked at Zoë. The confidence he'd been rolling with that he picked up from Zoë was now fading and he realized how many holes this plan had.

"What do we do?" He whispered.

Her lips pursed into a thin line. "We go. Even if it's one in a million, it's still a better chance than we have without it."

She held out her hand and Percy took it as they followed the goddess into the unknown ahead of them.

-X-

The plan still didn't sit well with Percy. Their guide was an emaciated corpse lady with serious self-esteem issues. As they struggled across the dusty plain, the fog became so thick that Percy had to resist the urge to swat it away with his hands. The only reason they were able to follow Akhlys's path was because poisonous plants sprang up wherever she walked.

After a few minutes, Akhlys turned and leered at them. "Here we are."

Her sickly eyes looked moist and swollen but somehow excited. Can Misery look excited? "Uh…great," Percy asked. "Where is here?"

"The verge of final death," Akhlys said. "Where Night meets the void below Tartarus."

Percy inched forward and peered over the cliff. "I thought there was nothing below Tartarus."

"Oh, certainly there is.…" Akhlys coughed. "Even Tartarus had to rise from somewhere. This is the edge of the earliest darkness, which was my mother. Below lies the realm of Chaos, my father. Here, you are closer to nothingness than any mortal has ever been. Can you not feel it?"

Percy knew what she meant. The void seemed to be pulling at him, leaching the breath from his

lungs and the oxygen from his blood. He looked at Zoë and saw that her lips were tinged blue.

"We can't stay here," he said.

"No, indeed!" Akhlys said. "Don't you feel the Death Mist? Even now, you pass between. Look!"

White smoke gathered around Percy's feet. As it coiled up his legs, he realized the smoke wasn't

surrounding him. It was coming from him. His whole body was dissolving. He held up his hands and found they were fuzzy and indistinct. He couldn't even tell how many fingers he had.

Hopefully still ten.

He turned to Zoë and stifled a yelp. "You're—uh—"

He couldn't say it. She looked dead. Her skin was sallow, her eye sockets dark and sunken. Her beautiful silky black hair had dried into a skein of cobwebs. She looked like she'd been stuck in a cool, dark mausoleum for decades, slowly withering into a desiccated husk. When she turned to look at him, her features momentarily blurred into mist.

"Oh gods," she whispered and he realized she was probably seeing the same thing in him.

"I've looked better," he decided. "I can't move very well. But I'm all right."

Akhlys clucked. "Oh, you're definitely not all right."

Percy frowned. "But we'll pass unseen now? We can get to the Doors of Death?"

"Well, perhaps you could," the goddess said, "if you lived that long, which you won't."

Percy felt an all too familiar chill run down his spine, "You tricked us?"

Akhlys cackled at him, "Did you really think I was foolish enough to fall for your little girlfriend's trick? I am a goddess and I cannot be outsmarted by the likes of little mortals like you."

Akhlys spread her gnarled fingers. More plants bloomed along the edge of the pit—hemlock,

nightshade, and oleander spreading toward Percy's feet like a deadly carpet. "The Death Mist is not simply a disguise, you see. It is a state of being. I could not bring you this gift unless death followed."

Zoë drew her bow and tried to notch an arrow only to find it was made of mist. Even her bow, which she thought she had been holding firmly in her hand was now somewhere between a solid and a gaseous state.

The goddess's ruined mouth split into a grin. "Did I forget to mention? You are only mist now—a shadow before death. Perhaps if you had time, you could learn to control your new form. But you don't have time. Since you cannot touch me, I fear any fight with Misery will be quite one-sided."

Bob lunged at the goddess but for her frail body, she was quick and strong. She backhanded the big cat, sending him crashing the way he came. He tried to get back up but stumbled and dropped to the ground, letting out a whimper as he licked his wounded side.

Zoë drew out her dagger and held it in front of her defensively. She looked at Percy, expecting him to be preparing to fight as well but instead found him staring at his own hands, seeming like he was dazed, too confused to realize what was happening.

She didn't have time to get his attention before the goddess lunged at her. Part of her thought she'd be fine. She was made of smoke, could she even be touched?

She found the answer out too quickly as Akhlys slashed her gnarled fingers across her arm, opening deep gashes that bled badly.

She stumbled back. She waved her blade at the goddess but it just passed through harmlessly, making Akhlys howl in laughter.

"You foolish girl! You thought you could manipulate me? I will show you how poor that choice has been!" She lunged at Zoë who barely managed to jump aside. Her body was slow. It felt like she were made of Jell-O and just getting her body to move a few feet was an accomplishment in itself.

She tried to back away but Akhlys was surprisingly fast for a famine victim and raked her clawed fingers across her stomach, opening up a deep wound and causing Zoë to stumble and fall on her backside.

The goddess tried to pounce but Zoë managed to roll aside. She tried to get back to her feet but froze when a sickly sweet smell reached her nose. She turned and found a number of plants, all oozing with noxious liquids that were pooling around her.

Zoë screamed as she scrambled back but couldn't move faster than the poisons which were flowing right at her. She coughed and felt her head swim as the toxins entered her body.

"Thought you could outsmart me?" Akhlys mocked. "I'd say this was a lesson for you child but I'm afraid you're out of time to learn from it."

Zoë closed her eyes as the poison encircled her. She prepared herself to die when the sound of chocking snapped her eyes open.

Percy stood with his hand gripped around the goddess' neck. Well, she was pretty sure it was Percy, though it was hard to tell as he looked like a corpse more than her handsome boyfriend. Akhlys flailed around and tried to claw at Percy's hands, only for her own to pass right through him. His image clarified for a moment and she saw his dark multicolored eyes glow with power as he lifted the goddess right off her feet.

"Aghhh," was all Akhlys managed to say as Percy held her in the air. Her arms and legs were wild but she seemed unable to touch him as he just stared into her eyes.

"Kill my girlfriend will you?" He roared at the goddess. "You may be a powerful goddess but I am the son of Hades and Persephone! Birth son of Poseidon and champion of the Hearth! You do not get to decide our fate goddess!"

Before she could croak out a response Percy turned and hurled the goddess towards the ledge. She came to a stop right at the edge, only the abyss of darkness and chaos beneath her. Percy walked over and pinned her down with a foot to the chest.

"You may be born of Chaos and Night but something tells me even you don't want to return from whence you came!"

Akhlys' head snapped around and she gazed into the abyss behind her. "Please, have mercy demigod!"

Percy put more weight on his foot and pushed her a little closer to the edge. Only her clawing at the quickly disappearing ground kept her from going over the edge.

"Mercy? Did you plan to give any to us?"

"I…I…" She tried to explain before Percy's eyes narrowed. He had every intention of sending the goddess overboard when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned and found Zoë's desolate looking corpse body standing next to her. The image disturbed him until he saw her eyes. The same dark and beautiful looking eyes he loved so much.

"Percy," she said gently. "Don't. Nyx spared us. It's only right you spare her child as well."

He stared at her for a minute. He didn't say anything at first but then raised his foot off the goddess. Akhlys crawled away from the edge and back to her feet, a look of terror on her face.

Percy didn't wait for her to say anything. He just pointed in the opposite direction, "Go! Before I change my mind!"

For an emaciated ghoul, Akhlys could run pretty fast when she wanted to. She scrambled into the plain, fell on her face, and got up again, wailing as she sped into the dark.

Once he was sure the goddess was gone, he broke his gaze from the direction she ran and looked at Zoë. "Are you okay?"

She didn't say anything at first, looking at her hands and down at her body before back at him.

"Um, I don't know… Are we, uh, dead?"

"Close," Percy said seriously. "We are as close to dead as we can be without actually taking the leap."

She looked back at her hands again, trying for stare them back into their normal form. "Percy," she said softly. "How did you do that? You just manhandled an ancient goddess."

He managed a small chuckle, "I'm awesome."

She rolled her eyes but looked at him, waiting for an answer.

He just shrugged his shoulders, "Death is kind of one of my things. When she described our state, I just needed a minute to get a feel for it. Once I did, changing from solid to mist was easy so whenever she tried to swat me, I would make her pass through me."

Zoë didn't quite get that. She felt like she was having enough trouble keeping herself in any state. But however he did it, she was grateful, he just saved their lives.

"What now?" She asked.

He offered his desolated looking hand, "Now we keep going. This is our first real chance to get outta this place. I don't know about you but I've had a lifetime's worth of Tartarus and we've got work to do with our friends up topside."

**A.N: Another chapter… I followed cannon in parts, changed some. Hope you liked it… Question though: Do you guys wanna see what's going on with the rest of the quest or should I keep writing about Percy and Zoë in Tartarus. Let me know what you think…**

**As always, thanks for reading.**


	9. Pay The Man

Ch. 9

Their travel had become painfully slow.

Percy had no problems moving but Zoe struggled to control her body in this strange form.

_Something about being a cross between mortal and ghost just wasn't all that easy to adjust to._

Of course Percy's mastery of the skill only served to frustrate her. It was _so_ Percy to be able to pick something up with almost no effort whatsoever.

She also had some difficulty getting used to seeing a half-decayed body in the place of her boyfriend. But she pushed the unpleasant visual to the side and forced herself to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

She let out an annoyed growl when Bob decided it was a good time to pass right between her legs in an effort to catch up to Percy and nearly made her face plant into the ground.

"Stupid cat!"

Percy turned and frowned at her, "Whoa, whoa. Easy on Bob. He doesn't know any better."

Zoe tried to glare at him but wasn't sure it worked considering her present form. She could have been looking at him through empty eye sockets... considering that was what was staring back at her for a moment before Percy's eyes solidified and returned to a more normal form.

"He's your pet," she grumbled. "Take care of him, this is hard enough without having to trip over him the whole way through Tartarus."

Percy knelt down and ran a hand down Bob's back, earning a pleased purr from the feline.

"She doesn't mean that bud, she's just frustrated. You're _our _pet. Once we get topside and lay the smack down on Gaea and her baddies you're coming home with us. No family is complete without a pet."

Zoe heard what he said and felt her face flush despite being on the brink of death.

"Family?" She was pretty sure her voice squeaked like a prepubescent boy but she couldn't help herself.

Percy looked up and she guessed his eyebrow was raised since the decaying skin above his left eye twitched a little. Then he seemed to realize what he'd said as both eyes went wide.

"Uh, I mean, uh, you know. If we don't die and the world doesn't like end. Or you don't decide my annoying traits are insufferable and find someone better. Or, uh..." he struggled to find a way to talk himself out of this one before he found the ground suddenly very interesting.

Zoe felt a slight twinge of satisfaction his rare inability to find words. But then she hobbled towards him and put a hand on his chin, (which fortunately did not pass right through him).

"Percy," she said softly.

He took a step back and almost tripped over Bob, "I didn't mean it like that. I mean, I... you know..."

She cut him off, "Percy."

He intelligently decided to shut up.

"You managed to take me away from the Hunters of Artemis. If you think you're going anywhere without me, then I think this death mist may be killing off your brain cells."

"Yeah, um, well..." He began only to be cut off by a gentle kiss, effectively shutting him up.

Luckily, their heads didn't pass through one another. Because that would have been weird and actually pretty gross if they thought about it. Zoe pulled back and patted him on the cheek a few times.

"Let's just get out of here.. I don't know what's going to happen but I promise you, whatever happens and whatever we go through, it's going to be together."

Percy just nodded his head, he was about to speak when Bob meowed from beside him.

"And," she added, "Bob is coming along as well. A pet cat that can turn into a prehistoric tiger is something I think I can get used to."

Bob meowed loudly and put his paws up on Zoe's leg, clearly pleased with his addition to her little promise. She shook her head with a smile and reached down, scratching his head and earning herself a pleased purr from their newest pet.

Percy cleared his throat, "So, to the Doors of Death. Let's get moving before I say something else stupid and run out of foots to put in my mouth."

Zoe rolled her eyes and waved her hand for Percy to lead on.

**-X-** (Line Break is dead. I killed it. Long live the -X-)

They walked for a few hours in relative silence. An eerie sense of dread seemed to have creeped into their hearts and Percy guessed it wasn't just the death mist seeping into their bodies. He could feel the Doors of Death getting closer. Their power pulled at him and drew him towards it. He had guessed he would be able to feel them when they got close. That was how the doors worked, helping the living find their way back into the mortal world.

There was also something else... Another presence.

He could sense it getting closer. It wasn't a malevolent presence but it also wasn't friendly. It wasn't coming towards them, rather they were getting closer to it. But on top of everything, it was one that he recognized.

"Charon," Percy said quietly but Zoe heard him.

"What? What about Chiron?"

Percy rolled his eyes, "I didn't say Chiron. I said Charon. The ferryman."

Zoe still looked confused until Percy pointed behind her.

In the distance, almost too far for Zoe to see, a cloaked figure stood. Percy didn't wait for her to say anything and continued forward, forcing her and Bob and follow.

The Styx veered off away from the way Percy was walking but behind the cloaked figure, another river flowed across the plain and towards the River Styx.

Percy slowed down and approached the figure warily, something Zoe didn't really understand.

"Charon," he said evenly. "It's been a while."

The figure finally raised its head, allowing his hood to drop revealing nothing but a fleshless skull.

"Perseus Jackson," replied the ghoulish figure. "What a surprise to find you down here in Tartarus. And so close to death? How in the name of Nyx did you convince Akhlys to cover you in her Death Mist without getting killed?"

Zoe thought Percy and Charon would be old friends, like he was with most of the gods of the Underworld but the way Percy stiffened made her doubt that assumption.

"Does it matter? In case you've forgotten, I can be rather resourceful when I need to."

Charon shook his head like he was amused by the answer, "Yes, that is very true old friend, but I think your luck will be running out quite soon."

Percy's hands clenched at his sides and Zoe could tell he was trying to swallow down the real response he wanted to give. He seemed to get control of his anger and just glared up at the god.

"So it is true, you serve Gaea?"

Charon raised his arms and spread them like it wasn't his fault.

"You of all people should know, I'm a businessman, Percy. Gaea simply offered more than your father ever dreamed of paying me."

Zoe was looking between the god and her boyfriend, confused at the entire conversation.

"Wait... He's a traitor?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.

Charon turned his skeletal head to her in what she guessed was distaste.

"Traitor? I am no traitor girl. I never had loyalties to Olympus. I only ever served Hades and that was simply because he paid me!"

Percy stepped in front of Zoe to keep the god's attention on him.

"Alright," he grumbled at the god, "a businessman you say. I assume you're keeping your job as ferryman under Gaea's impending rule, right?"

Charon smiled, which looked extraordinarily weird and creepy since he was just a skeleton.

"Yes indeed! And business is sure to be booming when giants rule the world!"

Percy ignored his excitement over the thought of the huge increase is mortal death and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small satchel and loosened the string tying it together. He reached in and pulled several small coins from it.

"Alright then, how about a ride across the Acheron?"

Charon eyed the coined greedily, "A ride, you say? I was told to turn over any demigods I come across to Gaea."

"Right," Percy said. "But how much did she offer you per demigod?"

Charon put a boney hand to his boney chin, "You know, I don't think we ever worked out a set fee."

Percy rolled the pouch in his fingers, showing how full it was.

"Well, how about we work something out? You know, under the table? For an old friend, of course."

Charon ran a hand through non-existent hair, "Hmmm. I don't know. I could get in a lot of trouble..."

"Or you could get in no trouble and make a nice little payday for yourself and Gaea would be none the wiser." Percy insisted. "There's no one else here, no one would know and you could just forget you ever saw us."

Charon seemed unsure. Percy jingled the coins around in his hand a few more times then stuffed them back into the pouch.

"Or not. I am resourceful... I'll find a _different way_." The way he said _different way_ was so icy, Zoe felt a shiver run down her spine.

Charon's bones seemed to shiver a little as well. "Alright," he agreed, "one last time, just because you're an old friend."

Percy tied the pouch back up and tossed at it the god who snatched it out of the air and immediately opened it up to see his prize. He whistled impressed which not even Percy quite understood.

_How do you whistle if you don't have lips?_

Then Percy realized that wasn't in the least bit important and turned back to Zoe offering her a hand.

"Percy?" She asked.

"Come on Zoe. Let's get across the river. Beyond it lies the heart of Tartarus."

"And your imminent deaths." Charon added.

"Not paying you for commentary." Percy snapped at the god who held up his hands in surrender.

"Come on Zoe, we're getting out of here."

A ferry appeared behind Charon who dropped into a mock bow to usher them aboard.

The trip across the Acheron was easily the most tense five minutes of Zoe's life. Percy stood as stiff as a board, his eyes narrowed as he scanned all around them, clearly not trusting the ferryman at his word. But to her relief, the ferry reached the far side of the river with a gentle thump and Charon simply stood, waiting for them to disembark.

Percy, Zoe and Bob, in his tabby cat form, stepped off the ferry and onto the far side of the river. Once they were a few feet away, Percy turned back to the god.

"I'll remember this moment, Charon. When we defeat Gaea and you're before my father, I'll remind him you didn't turn us over."

Charon's head turned to the side like he was having trouble comprehending.

"Your father will be right down here with you soon enough, Percy. It isn't personal, just business, and I'm in the business of not being lumped in with the losing side."

Before Percy could respond, Charon pushed off from the banks of the river and vanished into the haze of the Acheron.

"I take that back," Percy growled. "I'm going to help my father decide how little to pay that worm when he comes crawling back."

Zoe stepped up beside him, "How can he just betray your father? And how did you know?"

"I didn't know, I just know Charon. He's a greedy little godling. If he weren't a son of Nyx, I mighta stabbed him in the skull as a tip when we got off the ferry."

"But what about the mortal souls? How will they get into the Underworld if he's a traitor?"

Percy just waved a hand, "I'm sure he's still ferrying them across. He would never leave money on the table." He sighed, "He was right. He has no affiliation to Olympus. A lot of gods and goddesses don't. I guess we'll chalk this one up to a win that he didn't tell Gaea and the giants where we are."

Zoe had more questions but decided they really weren't important. They had far more immediate things to worry about than what gods and goddesses were siding with Gaea.

"So, what now? And why does it feel like we're supposed to go that way?"

Percy didn't even need to look up to know which direction she was pointing. He felt it too.

"Because that's the way to the Doors of Death. They call to us because we're alive.. Er, well, mostly alive."

"Are we close?" She asked.

He just shrugged, "Tough to tell, the pull is getting stronger so I'm guessing so but I've never been in the position of a reformed monster looking for access back to the mortal world. Only one way to tell," he offered his hand, "let's go."

They walked on for a while. How long, well time wasn't exactly easy to tell. The lack of sky and the never changing landscape of fiery chasms and barren plains didn't lend itself to keeping track of the time. But soon, Percy felt something different. Ahead of them, the plain looked like it came to an abrupt end. What was there, he couldn't even fathom a guess. But the quickening of Zoe's steps told him she noticed it too. She'd seemed to have gotten the hang of the whole walking dead thing. And as morbid as it sounded, he kind of thought it made her hotter.

_What? He was a son of Hades. Don't judge._

Bob was the first to reach the edge of the plain and he immediately lowered into a crouch, his body shaking and growing until he was in his full saber toothed tiger form.

Zoe and Percy paused and exchanged a look. They knew whatever had Bob riled up was not going to be fun.

Those words had never been such an understatement, Percy wanted to flop onto the ground and throw a full fledged temper tantrum at what he saw.

_Hadn't he faced enough impossible challenges in his life? _

Below them lay an army of monsters that made the Titan War look like a small skirmish.

Thousands of them. Of just about every kind of monster he'd seen, heard of and killed. And some that he thought he might have turned and ran for his life if he'd seen them. All packed inside an area about the size of a pro football stadium. They looked so congested, he wondered how the scene hadn't descended into a full blown monster battle royal.

"Percy," Zoe said pointed to the opposite side of the army of monsters. "The doors."

Percy followed her eyes and found what she meant. There they were. And like so many things in the mythological world, when you thought about it, there appearance was stupidly ironic.

An elevator.

And it didn't even look much different than the magical one located in the Empire State Building.

"Percy," Zoe whispered. "We'll never make it."

He wasn't sure he couldn't even make a logical argument against that statement.

"The Death Mist will hide us. This is our only chance to leave. We _have _to make it."

Zoe couldn't bring herself to believe his words.

"There are so many."

"I know," he agreed. "Let's just get down the cliff, then we can take it one step at a time."

**A.N: Anyone think I abandoned this? lol**


	10. Friends In Low Places

Ch. 10

Descending a vertical cliff in a semi gaseous state is not something Percy or Zoe will look back on as one of their fondest memories on their all-inclusive vacation to the eternal pit of damnation.

_No, maybe a more pleasant one, like the exquisite meal they enjoyed during their romantic night away at the Peaceful Giant Bed and Breakfast.©_

_Or maybe the visit to the Humane Society of Displaced Hybrid Monster Pets where they adopted a beautiful tabby cat that doubled as a prehistoric saber toothed tiger._

_Or... Wait, nevermind. _

Despite the challenge, they managed to traverse the cliff without falling to their deaths. And despite Bob, their cat/tiger/mountain-goat, leaping from ledge to ledge the whole way down, they also seemed to have made the effort without being noticed by the small city of monsters crowded near the Doors of Death.

Once at the bottom, the doors were blocked from view. Too many monsters of all shapes and sizes stood between them and their target. Percy leaned down to Bob's head and whispered in his ear. The large saber toothed tiger shrunk down into his more adorable and far less attention grabbing kitty cat form and took the lead in front of them.

Directly in front of them lay a small legion of Dracaena, all hissing back and forth about being at the end of the line and missing all the "good demigod snacks".

Bob took the lead, weaving thru the legs of the Dracaena with ease and without notice.

Percy and Zoe approached more slowly, unsure how well the Death Mist would hide them from unfriendly and hungry eyes. As they neared, Percy stubbed his foot on a rock, kicking it a few feet in front of him. A half dozen slitted yellow eyes snapped around and right at them. They both froze, waiting to begin a fight for their lives.

But the snake women looked right at them, searching for the source of the noise before one shrugged its scaly shoulders, assuming it was probably just a random rock falling somewhere in the general dismal landscape of Tartarus.

They both let out the breaths they were holding, albeit very carefully to avoid drawing more attention. Percy tentatively slipped past the reptilian monsters without being noticed. He saw Bob weaving ahead, apparently oblivious to the fact they couldn't match his pace.

Percy looked back at Zoe nervously and tried to follow his cat's general path of direction. Zoe followed right behind him but moving was painfully slow. They had to stop, wait for a monster to move and then slip by as quickly as they could. More than a few times monsters would pause and turn, looking right at them only to decide it was nothing and turn back around.

"It's working." Zoe whispered so quietly Percy could barely hear it.

"For now," he warned. Something about the events of his entire life told him it would not be this easy. While he prayed the Fates would finally throw him a bone, he had no intention of counting on the old battle axes giving him a break.

_He wasn't sure which Fate he'd angered but he must have done something because they appeared to be using the string for his life as toilet paper. That was the only thing that could account for all the shit he had to go through._

But to his surprise, the Death Mist was everything Akhlys had claimed it would be. They were nothing but shadows moving amongst the darkness. Monsters would occasionally sense them but even when looking directly at them, they were invisible.

They had no idea how long they'd been at it but somehow, they found their way to the front of the mass of monsters. The Doors of Death were now less than twenty yards in front of them.

Like they'd first thought, the doors were in fact elevator doors like those found in the Empire State Building. Well, mostly like those elevator doors. One glaring difference was the golden chains tied to the ground on each side of doors. The chains were latched to the sides of the elevator and standing at the point where the chains were tied to stakes in the ground were two figures Percy had little trouble identifying.

Titans.

One was instantly recognizable. His golden armor and glowing eyes were hard to miss. So was the memory of Percy dispatching him down to Tartarus during the first Titan war with the help of Katie, Thalia and the Hunters of Artemis.

"_Hyperion."_

Percy grumbled so only Zoe could hear him. She clearly recognized him as well, some of the air being taken out of her sails at the thought of getting past him this time.

The other titan Percy had never seen before. But from the stories he'd heard in Camp Jupiter and from Jason, it wasn't hard to decipher his identity. His ram horn helmet was a dead giveaway. This was Krios, the titan Jason had destroyed in the Romans' battle at Mount Othrys during the Titan War.

They both stood on each side of the doors, right next to the stakes holding the chains that were latched to the doors.

Hyperion pulled out a small ticket and turned to the assembled monsters.

"Number 14774!" He bellowed over the sounds of the monster chatter and growling. Nothing happened and Hyperion glowered at the assembled monsters.

"I SAID NUMBER 14774!"

A murmuring broke out amongst the monsters until a group of a dozen cyclopes shoved their way to the front, one holding a ticket much like the kind you'd get at a supermarket deli.

"Here! We won! We won!" The cyclops holding the ticket exclaimed gleefully.

"Yes, Yes," Hyperion growled. "Get inside, we don't have eternity here."

As the cyclopes approached, the elevator doors dinged and opened up revealing an obsidian and gold interior. The cyclopes clamored inside, Percy unsure how they would all fit inside.

To his surprise, the elevator seemed to accommodate their huge forms. Either that, or the cyclopes shrunk down but either way, all twelve crowded themselves inside the elevator before Krios stepped forward and stretched out his arm, pressing the up bottom on the side of the doors.

The doors dinged again and slowly began to close, Krios keeping his finger on the button. The doors began to glow for a moment then shook violently. The two titans stepped on the stakes effectively keeping the doors in their place while Krios continued to hold down the button.

"So that's how they keep the doors where they are."

Zoe looked at Percy confused.

"The doors are constantly moving. Only Thanatos knows where they are at any given moment. When they captured Thanatos, they chained the doors so Gaea could control which monsters were sent back to the mortal world."

"Death has been chained..." Zoe said thinking of what Percy had told them Ceres announced to the Romans.

"Yeah, apparently that meant Thanatos and the doors. And from what I can see, the button looks like it has to be held down in order to make the trip back to the mortal world." Percy sounded deflated but tried not to show it.

"So, we're screwed?" She surmised.

At first, Percy was silent. He just stared blankly back at her. He noticed Bob by her feet.

_Nice of him to make an appearance right before their imminent deaths_, he thought morbidly before he looked back at Zoe, shaking his head.

"Maybe we can sneak inside with the next group of monsters unseen and catch a ride topside without them noticing."

Zoe thought that sounded hopeful but the reality of the situation hit her like a freight train.

"But we need to free the doors. Otherwise, Gaea and her armies will continue to reform and come back every time we kill them."

Percy didn't look at her and it didn't take long for Zoe to figure out the plan forming in his head.

"You are not staying behind."

He sighed, knowing this was not going to be easy.

"Someone has to. If I die, I just go home. If you die, who knows what happens. You can still rejoin the hunters and have a normal life. For this one time Zoe, it's not open for debate. You're getting in the elevator even if I have to knock you out and throw you inside."

She was about to argue when Krios' booming voice cut their argument off.

"It's my turn to pull the numbers. My finger is getting tired, you hold the button for a while."

Hyperion scoffed, "We were each given our duties from mother. Stop your bellyaching and hold the button. It's your fault you're down here, you didn't even fight in New York. Killed by that little Roman, Grace. Be grateful you're even allowed this task after your failure last time."

Krios scowled at his brother, "And dying at the hands of that Jackson boy was so much more honorable."

Hyperion's eyes blazed as he glowered at the other titan, "It wasn't just that little brat! It took half their army of demigods to stop me!"

Krios rolled his eyes, "So you say..."

"Enough!" Hyperion snapped. "It's bad enough I'm stuck in this stinking pit with your pathetic self! I should be leading the armies toward Mount Olympus!"

Krios looked like he was about to reply when the entire cavern fell silent. Even Percy and Zoe felt it. A new presence had appeared. One so overpowering that Percy knew their chances of escape had just gone from slim to none.

A vortex of black energy surged over the monster ranks and blasted right through Hyperion's chest. The air seemed to have been sucked from Hyperion's body as he dropped to his knees, frantically trying to breath.

The swirling mass of energy came to a halt behind the titan and then began to take shape.

"STINKING PIT!" A booming voice thundered from the slowly forming mass of energy. "YOU DARE INSULT THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN!"

The first thing Percy saw were a pair of thick, muscular legs grow from the ground. They were veiny and purple, the same color as the ground beneath them. A muscle packed torso grew next, followed by arms and then eventually the shape of a head. The figure stood nearly twenty feet in height; the size was bigger than everything else around but Percy guessed it could be any height it wanted to.

Instead of a face, a swirling vortex of darkness encompassed the head and seemed to pull at everything around them, demigods included.

In any other situation, the look of pure terror on Hyperion's face would have been a welcome sight, though Percy guessed he had an identical one on his own face.

"I... I didn't..." Was as far as Hyperion got before the pull of the vortex intensified and seemed to focus on him. Everything on the ground by his feet was sucked inside while Hyperion dropped to his knees and grabbed hold of the chains binding the doors.

"YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE THIS PIT! I OWN EVERYTHING IN IT! INCLUDING PATHETIC LITTLE TITANS THE LIKES OF YOU!"

Hyperion's body was pulled so hard it was lifted off the ground. The only thing keeping him from oblivion was his grip on the chains. Though they could feel the pull as well, it was nothing like what Hyperion was dealing with. His body looked like a flag flapping in the wind as he desperately tried to hold onto his one life line.

The muscular arms reached out, almost like he were about to snatch up the titan, but they didn't, only the pull of the vortex increased. Golden ichor leaked from Hyperion's hands as he struggled for life.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he lost his grip.

"Nooooooooo!" He bellowed as he flew straight into the head of Tartarus. His body hit and then looked like it melted as it was sucked inside the primordial god until they were no signs the titan had ever even been there.

The massive figure stood by the doors. With no face, it was hard to tell what it was looking at but Percy had a sinking feeling it was him.

"YOU FOOLS. DEMIGODS STAND BEFORE YOUR EYES AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IT."

The massive figure waved his hand and the death mist covering Percy and Zoe was gone, blown away with a mere flick of his wrist.

They stood in plain sight near the Doors of Death, an army of monsters behind them and a titan and Primordial God in front of them.

"Well shit." Percy muttered under his breath but with the silence all around him, it was heard by anyone within fifty feet.

"IMPRESSIVE YOU HAVE SURVIVED THIS FAR, LITTLE MORTALS." Tartarus boomed in their direction. "BUT WHILE YOU HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR, YOUR JOURNEY ENDS NOW."

Percy glanced towards Zoe. Bob had taken a spot between them, the hairs on his back were raised but he remained in his smaller tabby cat form. Zoe was motionless, seemingly mesmerized by the sheer power of the being before them.

Percy had to concentrate to avoid being overwhelmed by the raw power Tartarus exuded.

It took a moment to find his voice, "Wh...What? You're going to kill us? How brave of you, a primordial god, to dispose of two demigods."

Tartarus stood motionless, the swirling of the vortex where his face should have been was the only the god made. Percy thought he'd just gotten them obliterated.

"I DO NOT DEAL WITH BEINGS SO BELOW ME!" The god boomed. "BE SILENT MORTAL, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK IN MY PRESENCE!"

Percy had Anaklusmos gripped in his hand, still in pen form but tossed it to the ground beside him.

"Then what? We've survived your pit! Let us leave if we're so below you!"

Tartarus' vortex face tilted back and a booming sound reverberated all around them. Percy realized the primordial was laughing at him.

"BRAVE WORDS, MORTAL! I SHALL LET MY MONSTERS DEAL WITH YOU! YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE THIS PLACE!"

The monsters behind them began to murmur before breaking into a raucous chorus of jeers and growling.

"DESTROY THESE MORTALS!" Tartarus boomed.

The monsters started to surge forward. Percy snatched up Anaklusmos while Zoe regained her bearings and notched an arrow in her bow.

Then, from somewhere in the back of the monsters, a symphony of pained screams filled the cavern. The rest of the monsters froze at the sound.

At the very back of the cavern, Percy saw the last thing he thought he would ever see.

A drakon tore through the monster ranks. And not just any drakon, one he recognized because he watched it die, then enjoyed its flesh in a delicious stew.

_It'd been a weird few days..._

It was the Maeonian Drakon.

It tore a path of death and destruction through the army of monsters. Its mouth snatched up monsters four or five at a time. Its tail whipped around and sent dozens flying into their comrades leaving huge piles of ashes all throughout the the cavern. The army of monsters started to regain their wits and attack back only to see their weapons bounce off its tough scaly hide.

Percy wasn't even sure what to think. His mind was blank. Completely confused about what was going on.

Then he saw a second figure emerge from the back of the cavern. This one was also familiar. Rust colored red skin covering a half man, half dragon body and standing around twenty feet tall. A drakon bone lance was gripped in his hand as Damasen marched forward, crushing monsters under his scaly feet as he walked. When he was forty feet away, he pointed his lance at Percy and Zoe.

Or, it seemed that way.

But his eyes were actually glued to the similarly large figure behind them.

"So powerful, father. Your bravery confronting these mortals shall be told for eons. The mighty Tartarus destroying the dangerous mortals!"

Though he had no face, it was easy to guess the god's mood. Purple veins pulsed throughout his muscular body as the primordial god watched his giant son approach.

"YOU WOULD STAND WITH THESE MORTALS? YOU ARE NO WARRIOR! YOU ARE A FAILURE! A DISAPPOINTMENT SINCE YOUR CREATION!" Tartarus boomed at his son. Damasen stood his ground and glared right back at his father.

"You wish for a fight, father? Surely you must wish for a more worthy opponent! I am one of the giants you are so proud of. You wished me to be more warlike? Perhaps I will start by destroying you!"

Before the god had a chance to respond, Damasen charged right at his father. Percy and Zoe stepped aside as he barreled past them, his drakon bone lance thrust straight at the god's midsection.

A massive sword appeared in Tartarus' hand and deflected the blow. Damasen parried and attacked again, pushing the god back a few steps and on the defensive. The two went back and forth, primordial god versus giant. Though Percy thought Tartarus could have destroyed Damasen with just a thought, he seemed too stunned to do anything but defend himself.

Percy knew this was their chance. He turned and charged straight at Krios, who was enthralled with the battle before him. Too late did he notice the demigod coming right for him.

Percy jumped and drove Anaklusmos right into his side, thrusting the blade deep into the titan's flesh. Krios bellowed in agony and dropped to his knees. Percy screamed and drove the blade in deeper. Krios tried to speak, his words wet as golden ichor filled his mouth and leaked from the corners of his lips. He looked up at Percy with pure hatred.

Then he slowly dissolved into a golden dust.

Percy didn't waste any time. He jumped to the first chains holding the Doors of Death in place and sliced through them like a knife through butter. Before he could reach the second, Tartarus' booming voice rang out.

"STOP THOSE MORTALS! DESTROY THEM!"

The monsters started forward, at least the ones not stuck in a one-sided battle with the Maeonian Drakon that was currently in the middle of their army, a path of death left in his wake.

An Empousa near the front tried to step towards Zoe only to have a small tabby cat lunge at her. In midair, Bob transformed and grew to his full Saber Toothed Tiger height, latching on to the monster's neck and ripping it apart before his feet even hit the ground.

The sight of Bob caused the monsters to pause for a just a second. Percy used it to run and dive at the other chain holding down the doors, slicing through the chain and freeing the doors from their restraints. Before he could jump to his feet, a cyclops stood over him, a huge wooden club gripped in both hands. As it went to bring down the fatal strike, an arrow sprouted from its forehead, right over its eye.

It dissolved into dust.

Percy stood and looked as the monsters tried to surge forward. Zoe was firing arrows at nearly inhuman speeds, dropping them faster than they could get in striking range. She fired with such speed and precision that Percy thought Artemis might have been jealous.

Any that avoided her arrows were met with the swiping claws or razor sharp teeth of Bob who stood in front of Zoe protectively and guarded her from anything getting close enough to attack.

Percy looked out and saw just how many monsters they had to deal with. It was an impossible task. They could hold them off for a few minutes, but even with all three of them fighting, they'd soon be overrun.

He panicked and tried to think of anything that would buy them time.

Then he felt it.

Water.

And not just any water. River water.

He looked down and saw the purple ground, soft and spongy, just like the flesh of Tartarus. Flowing underneath the surface were the same veins covering the god's body. Except they weren't really veins, they were the rivers of the underworld, all flowing into the heart of Tartarus.

He realized now what it was. They were literally standing on top of Tartarus. The form fighting Damasen was just a fraction of the god's being. They were literally in Tartarus.

_Another bullet point to add to his list of things he didn't care to remember from their time in Tartarus._

He thrust out his hand and used his will to pull. The veins under the ground ruptured and shot up, dousing a trio of dracaena with water from the River Styx. They screeched in agony and dissolved into a puddle of mud.

Without thinking, Percy ran to Zoe who was still firing arrows as fast as she could. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her right off her feet. Ignoring her outraged protests, he ran to the elevator doors and tossed her inside.

"Zoe, go! Warn the others of what we've seen!"

Before she had a chance to even get back to her feet, he reached for the button.

He'd long since made his choice. He and Bob would hold the monsters as long as they could and by the grace of the gods, they'd hold long enough to get Zoe topside.

Just as his fingers grazed the button, his wrist was grabbed by a small but strong hand. He turned and almost fell back on his butt at what he saw.

A small girl, a child no older than ten, held him by the wrist and prevented him from pressing the button. He tried to overpower her but the child's strength was far superior to his.

"Perseus Jackson," the girl said.

He finally took in the girl's appearance. Her skin was fair but her hair was as black as could be. She was a good foot smaller than him and couldn't have weighed more than sixty pounds. It was her eyes that froze him. He'd seen them before on a person who scared him almost as much as Tartarus.

"Nyx," he said in awe. "What..."

She pushed his hand away with ease.

"I will hold the button, demigod. Go, return to your war. You have much left to do."

In retrospect, he should have just obeyed the goddess' command without question.

But hindsight is twenty/twenty and in the heat of the moment, he usually didn't think things through long enough to realize how stupid they might be.

He foolishly asked a question he almost immediately regretted.

"Why?"

Nyx turned around and flicked her wrist. The closest thirty or forty monsters were blasted out of existence.

"In the future, I will require a service from you. I will free you from this place but you will fulfill this task when I ask it of you."

Percy was too stunned to even comprehend her words.

"Uh, what?"

Nyx's eyes were like supernovas boring into his very soul. "Swear to me you will fulfill the task I ask of you. Swear to it on your life and that of the girl."

He hesitated. Something in his gut told him it would be a mistake. But then, the more rational and anxious not to die part of him recognized this was his one and only chance for escape.

"I swear it."

The goddess' lips quirked into a smile and Percy realized what he'd just done. He made an oath more powerful than anything on the Styx. The river was binding and could kill him; Nyx could erase him and his soul from existence if she wanted. She made a shooing motion with her hand and Percy flew into the elevator doors.

"Go young hero. You have more to do than you could even fathom."

Nyx pressed the button and the doors made a ding, preparing to close.

"BOB!" Percy yelled. "Come on boy!"

Bob's head snapped up, a telekhine wriggling in his mouth. He bounded towards the elevator as the doors began to close, jumping through just in the nick of time.

Once closed, Percy felt like he was shooting up so fast he was a rocket heading into space. The last he saw were the body's of Zoe and Bob collapse onto the elevator floor before his entire world was consumed by darkness.

**A.N: So two years between chapters then 3 days. What can I say other than... my bad. I'm random. Kind of excited about this story now, let me know what you thought.**

**And if Telemathene is reading this... Hi.**


	11. Love and Loss

Ch. 11

Zoe had no idea where she was.

Her entire world was filled with darkness. She blinked her eyes but nothing changed.

The ground beneath her was cold, hard and flat. It felt like metal. She spread her arms frantically, looking for anything that might tell her where she was. At first, she found nothing but then her left hand landed on something small and fluffy.

At first she was confused. Fluffy? She didn't own anything _fluffy_.

She tried to remember the last place she was but her mind swam and moved like jello. Her brain felt fuzzy, a fog lay over her keeping her from recalling her memories.

She squeezed her hand and earned a hiss from the fluffy object. It almost sounded like a... _cat._

That was the spark she needed and everything came flooding back to her.

Her fall into Tartarus. Percy wrapping her in his arms as they fell towards their deaths. Their impossible survival by landing in the Cocytus and then the journey through the abyss and their even more impossible battle at the Doors of Death. The last thing she remembered was Percy throwing her against her will into the elevator.

Her heart stopped.

"Ugh..."

Her eyes went wide, "Percy?"

"Hmmm?" A groggy voice answered. But it was a voice she'd recognize anywhere.

"Percy!"

"Come on Zoe, like ten more minutes. I'm so tired."

She sat straight up and turned towards the sound of his voice, "Percy Jackson!"

After a few seconds, she heard Percy sit up fast.

"Holy shit, where are we?"

She tried to reach out for him but couldn't find him, making her panic until she felt a firm held grab hers.

"I'm right here, Zoe." He held her hand tight.

"Percy, I can't see anything."

"No, I don't suppose you do." A new voice boomed from in front of them.

Zoe looked up and found two glowing blue orbs in front of them. They were high above them, about twenty five feet above them, which answered the question of who was speaking.

A giant.

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Percy sighed. "Obviously escaping Tartarus wasn't enough, we have to reappear at the feet of a giant."

The glowing blue orbs seemed to intensify as a low rumbling came from the giant. A laugh, or at least the sound a giant makes when he laughs.

"And what a short escape it will prove to be."

**Line Break **(Return of the Line Break for the return of an old friend)

Annabeth Chase stood at the entrance of the Necromanteion.

She felt an emptiness inside that threatened to consume her.

It had been two long weeks since Percy and Zoe had fallen into the abyss. Two weeks of struggles and delays. Two weeks of uncertainty. Perhaps two weeks too late to have any chance to save her two closest friends.

The Argo II had had anything but a smooth journey to Epirus. They'd dealt with Ourae attacking their ship; two weeks of silence from the gods with the exception of a visit from Hecate whose conversation with Hazel was still shrouded in mystery. Though the details Hazel gave were vague, she and Nico had taken to disappearing for hours at a time ever since. When they returned, they looked fatigued and weary. The only explanation they gave was that Nico was helping her with her Hades powers... _whatever that meant._

Then, going on nothing more than a dream vision from Jason, they traveled to Split, Croatia, to retrieve the Sceptor of Diocletian. Jason's dream showed he, Nico and Bianca commanding a legion of Roman ghosts in a huge battle in a dark dreary place.

After successfully attaining the sceptor, they were again attacked, this time by the mythical bandit Sciron. They managed to trick the old foe of Theseus into getting himself kicked off the cliff but the Argo II sustained some heavy damage getting away from his enormous pet turtle in the sea below who didn't seem to appreciate the fact that they tricked him into eating his master.

_Go figure._

They managed to get away and found themselves in the port of Auster, the Roman god of the South Wind. After days of impatient waiting, the temperamental wind god allowed them passage to get to Epirus and even helped fix up the Argo II.

And now Annnabeth stood at the entrance of the Necromanteion, the ancient temple of Hades, the father of Percy. And she couldn't shake the feeling of dread sitting in the pit of her stomach. If Percy and Zoe had somehow escaped Tartarus anytime over the past two weeks, they would have likely been slaughtered by whatever was waiting for them inside. And if they hadn't come out yet and were still alive, then Annabeth and the rest of the others would have to capture and hold the doors for an unknown amount of time.

In other words, if she were to put a number on the chances of everything falling together perfectly and then getting her two friends out alive, it had to be somewhere between one and _you__'__re an idiot for even trying this_ percent of success.

But impossible odds or not, she would do everything she could to help their friends, even it risked their losing the war with Gaea and her giants. They were likely walking to their deaths but Percy had done it for her before and she had no intention of letting him down now. If there was one thing she'd realized since meeting Percy Jackson, it was to never question his ability to do the impossible.

Annabeth looked over her shoulder to see Nico, Bianca, Hazel, Jason, Piper and Leo coming up behind her. The sight of her friends helped ease the stress of the burden on her shoulders but it did little to dissuade her feelings of unease when she thought about Percy and Zoe.

"Are we ready?" Jason asked as the rest of the crew joined Annabeth at the entrance.

"Obviously we're ready!" Bianca said impatiently. "Percy needs us, let's go!"

Annabeth bit her lip, unsure how to even respond.

"Well, uh," Leo answered for her. "That's if they're even in there. Who knows..."

Leo was silenced when Piper punched him hard in the shoulder.

"Yeah," Jason shot him a look of irritation. "Bianca is right, let's go." He stepped forward but let his hand graze Annabeth's as he walked by, a subtle move but just what she needed to push the doubts away and set her mind on the task ahead.

As they crossed over the threshold, they found themselves in a large room. In the back of the room, a doorway stood leading to stairs that went down. The room was completely empty with the exception of a raised dais. In the dais lay a large bowl filled with grains. The group approached it slowly; Bianca reached her hand inside and took a handful of the substance.

She brought it to her face and sniffed.

"Barley."

"Uh," Leo approached the bowl and cocked his head looking at it suspiciously. "Are we supposed to brew a beer to bribe Hades to let Percy and Zoe out?"

Bianca shot him a look of loathing, "My Dad doesn't control Tartarus or the Doors of Death, you idiot."

Leo looked confused but Bianca just ignored him and turned to Nico.

"We're supposed to eat it. When ancient Greek visitors came to speak to the dead, they were given a meal of barley bread, oysters and a crude form of opium before they could enter the temple." Nico answered.

"So, like, they had to be wasted to get in?" Leo looked at the barley suspiciously.

"Pretty much," Nico agreed. "It was supposed to open their minds to the unknown. I can't really tell you more than that, I wasn't there."

"So, we have to get high to get in?" Leo continued.

"It's just barley." Biance growled, annoyed with this stupid debate delaying them any longer.

"Right," Leo flinched a little under her glare. "So, let's have a snack before we walk to our deaths."

Piper rolled her eyes and stepped up to the dais and grabbed a handful of the grains, stuffing them in her mouth and forcing herself to swallow the bland food. Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths, but when she didn't burst into flames to dissolve into dust, they stepped up, one at a time and took their own handfuls of the barley.

"Okay," Jason said trying to swallow the last of his food. "What now?"

"We go down," Hazel said solemnly. "We find the Doors of Death and do whatever we have to to get my brother out of there." She looked at Nico and Bianca who gave her small, approving smiles.

"Alright then," Leo clapped his hands together. "Who's gonna lead us down the yellow brick road?"

**Line Break**

The last thing Percy remembered were that giant's stupid cocky grin before his world was consumed by darkness. He felt his mind slowly coming out of a fog but when he tried to lift his head, it seemed his body and mind were not on the same page.

He managed to open his eyes and found that there was almost no light anywhere around them. But thanks to Nyx's little gift, he could see almost as well as if the room was fully illuminated.

It took a ton of effort, but he managed to turn his head and found Zoe laying beside him. Her eyes were shut and she didn't move except for the slow rising and falling of her chest as she breathed.

Then as if someone clicked the mute button off on his brain, the sounds a battle rang out all around them. He forced his head to turn to the other side where he saw his friends, all of them along with his siblings, in the middle of an epic battle with a giant and a horde of monsters.

Nico and Bianca commanded a legion of ghosts which appeared to be mostly roman soldiers. Jason and Piper were right in the middle of them shouting orders and leading the ghoulish army into battle with the monsters.

Hazel, Annabeth and Leo were dealing with the giant.

Leo tried to use his fire to attack the giant but his flames were extinguished almost as soon as he tried to use them.

When he looked at Hazel, he almost didn't recognize her. Shrouded in mist, her form flickered in and out of sight and sent attacks, some fake and some real at the giant who fended off both, much to his annoyance.

Annabeth stood behind them covering their backs, vanishing from sight then reappearing behind a monster with her dagger embedded in their back.

Despite their best efforts, they didn't seem to be doing much damage to the giant. And soon, they were losing ground, being pushed back towards the monsters who were started to run through the army of roman ghosts and turning towards the other fight, waiting for their chance to attack.

Percy tried to get to his feet but there was something wrong. His body felt paralyzed and nothing he tried helped to get him to his feet.

Then a shrill scream of pain rang out over the sounds of battle.

Bianca stood stiff as a board, a spear sticking out of her stomach. A dracanae stood triumphtly in front of her before Piper sprang forward and sliced the monster's head off so fast that at first, it looked like she'd missed. Then, a crease formed at the monster's neck before it's body fell to the left and its head toppled to the right before bursting into dust.

It was like time stood still. Nothing moved. Not a monster, ghoul or demigod. The only indication that time was moving was the blood slowly soaking through her armor and down her body.

Annabeth stared at the daughter of Hades, a look of disbelief and horror on her face. Nico looked white as a ghost beside her, unable to do anything but watch as she dropped to her knees.

Then a second scream filled the room.

Unlike the first, this one came from a man.

Every eye in the room turned and found Percy on his feet. His eyes were locked on Bianca as she sat on her knees, blood starting to pool on the ground beneath her as she slowly died. Piper was trying frantically to stop the bleeding but the blood seaped through her hands. She yelled for Bianca to stay with her but Bianca's eyes were glassy and unfocused.

Percy started to walk towards her and the room erupted back into chaos.

Percy's mind was empty. He couldn't take his eyes off his sister, the look of pain and fear etched all over her face. He ignored the giant who was still battling Hazel and Leo. A group of monsters ran towards him but he hardly registered their existence.

Annabeth stood invisible behind Hazel. The monsters had turned their attention to Percy and stopped trying to flank Leo and Hazel. She started towards the monsters charging Percy but then stopped.

Shadows swirled around his body before vanishing, leaving him covered in black and obsidian armor. His clothes were gone with the exception of a pair of shorts. Greaves covered his legs and forearms; a chest plate covered his torso and feathered out at the bottom. He wore strange looking boots, bronzes plates covering the top of his feet. On his head was an obsidian Greek style helmet with a golden plume spiked like a mohawk.

A telekhine was the first to reach the son of Hades. It lunged at him with its teeth barred, trying to tackle him to the ground. Percy's fist shot out so fast, Annabeth didn't see it until he was pulling it back from the badly dented monster's skull. It crumbled to the ground and dissolved to dust.

A pair of empousai attacked next, trying to overwhelm him from both sides. At the last second, a spear shot from the earth. Percy caught it and laid it across his shoulders. He spun around fast and cracked both she-demons in their faces before they could reach him. He stopped, and drove the weapon into the chest of the first before she could even sit up. Then, with an emotionless face, he turned and made a quick thrust into the second's neck before she even knew what hit her.

The monsters started charging in mass at him, Jason tried to flank them but found himself yanked backwards. When he turned, he saw one of the Roman ghouls holding him back from joining in. He looked around and found the remaining ghouls all standing still, their eyes trained on Percy as he was surrounded by the small army of monsters.

After the first dozen fell at his hands, the monsters paused long enough to completely surround the son of Hades.

Percy stood in the middle, over fifty assorted monsters; Cyclopes, Hellhounds, Empousai, Dracanae, Centaurs and Telekhine all circled around him. Percy stood in his armor, his spear was in one hand and shield in the other. Anaklusmos was sheathed at his waist as he stood in the middle of what was more monsters than most demigods care to see in a lifetime. His face was mostly covered by his helm but his eyes were blank, emotionless and hollow.

A hellhound was the first to make a move. It lunged at him but Percy knelt down as it flew over him. He stood straight up and thrust his shield up, catching it in the back legs and sending it toppling end over end right into its comrades.

That was when the rest attacked.

Percy's movements were fluid and looked almost mechanical. His mind was blank with the exception for an insatiable thirst for death. His instincts, his years of training and his rage guided his every movement. Annabeth watched from afar with her mouth hanging open. He moved so fast and with such purpose, it looked rehearsed.

He blocked an enemy spear with his shield, then thrust his own spear over the shield and right into the open mouth of an empousai. He stepped to his left, throwing his sheild over his shoulder to block an arrow, while he knocked back a hellhound with a kick to the face. He turned and took two quick steps, jumping into the air and driving his spear into the chest of an unsuspecting telekhine.

He pulled out the spear and spun around, taking two steps forward to avoid being crushed by the club of a cyclops. He made a quick jab into the monster's bare fo ot and when he lowered his head, Percy cracked him so hard in the face with a shield, the sounds of bones crunching was audible even from where Annabeth stood twently feet away.

Percy spun around and swung his spear like a baseball bat, cracking an empousa in the side of the head and shattering his spear. He held the jagged shard in his hand and turned around and thrust into the face of a telekhine.

Anaklusmos was out before the monsters could make a move and cut three more monsters down. Percy jabbed a cyclops with his shield and slashed a wide, upward arc, cutting the monster's throat as he instinctively crouched to grab his stomach.

He turned and Annabeth screamed when he saw the dracanea's spear driven into him.

Or that was how to looked at least.

He moved at just the right second, causing the weapon to glance off his breast plate. He caught the weapon between his side and arm, then slammed his shield into the middle of the weapon, snapping it in half at its wooden middle.

He tossed his shield at the monster, who went to catch it on instinct. As soon as her hands touched the shield, Percy drove the business end of her own spear through her chest. She dissolved into dust, Percy's shield clattering to the ground in her ashes.

A centaur tried to run him through with a wild sword slash but Percy grabbed his arm, holding back to blow with his right hand and slicing through his front horse legs with Anaklusmos in his left.

The monster wailed in agony but Percy left him there to bleed out, snatching the sword from his grasp as he toppled over in pain.

The rest was a blur of blades and monster flesh. Percy wielded two swords like they were extensions of his body. A plume of dust so thick surrounded the battle that it made seeing the battle almost impossible. But when the sounds of carnage ceased, Percy stepped out covered in a thin layer of monster dust.

He turned to the giant and found only a flaming corpse, the goddess Hecate stood before it, admiring the kill as if she had done anything but deliver the final blow.

Percy turned towards the spot he'd seen Bianca fall. He knew she was dead, he felt it the moment it happened. He refused to allow the reality sink in though as he searched for someone else to feel his wrath.

Annabeth was trying to console Nico who was sobbing beside her limp body while Piper held Hazel in a hug as she cried softly. Percy looked towards Zoe and found Jason and Leo tried to dispatch the large saber toothed tiger that stood growling over her still unconscious body.

He strode towards his love, silently and with purpose.

"Percy, it won't let us get to Zoe!" Jason yelled as he tried to charge at Bob only to stumble back before razor sharp claws could cut him down.

Leo reached into his tool belt and pulled a pair of hammers out. Within seconds, they were ablaze as he stepped up to attack the giant feline.

As he reared back to hurl one of the hammers, his arm was grabbed so hard he felt like it'd just been ripped from its socket. Percy pushed him aside, perhaps a little rougher than necessary but his mind was still burning with a desire to cause pain to anything he could.

"Dude!" Jason yelled. "What the hell was that?"

Percy just ignored him and walked right up to the prehistoric animal. Bob raised his head at the sight of him but seemed to sense his emotions and cowered, letting out a soft whimper as he laid down beside Zoe.

Percy stopped and pet his head once to show he was not angry with him then scooped up Zoe in his arms.

"The cat is with me." Percy said coldly. "If you hurt him, I will feed him your bodies."

Both demigods stared at Percy, unsure of what to even say. Percy though, had no interest in waiting for them to find their voices and approached the elevator doors still straining to get free of the golden chains binding them to the ground.

He paused for a second and then looked back towards Bianca, then seemed to make his decision. He slashed Anaklusmos through the chains and the Doors of Death shimmered and vanished from sight.

Without a word, Percy turned and walked towards Bianca's body with Zoe still cradled in his arms. Bob walked at his side while Jason and Leo, who were both still taken aback by Percy's coldness towards them, trailing behind and outside of sword reach.

As he approached her body, his pace slowed. The sight of her corpse caused him so much pain, he wanted to just collapse to the ground in tears like Nico. But he forced himself to remain stoic as he stood over Nico who was inconsolable. He laid Zoe, who was beginning to stir a little but was still out of it. down gently at his feet.

"Nico," he spoke gently. "We need to leave."

His brother looked up at him in disbelief.

"Percy! She's dead! Percy!"

A sudden tenseness surrounded the questers not related to Bianca.

"Nico," he said more firmly. "Get up. We'll mourn her when we're away from this place. If we linger, we might get ambushed.

Nico's face was uncomprehending. He just stared up at his older sibling in shock.

"But, but.."

"NICO!" Percy snapped. "BE A MAN AND GET UP!"

"Percy," Hazel protested through her own tears but stopped when Percy's cold eyes fell on her.

When Nico didn't move, he reached down and pulled him up by the back of his shirt. Nico shoved him away but Percy grabbed his arms and pulled the smaller boy into an embrace. Nico struggled to free himself but was powerless against his stronger brother. Nico eventually gave up freeing himself and just allowed himself the comfort of his brother's arms.

Percy leaned down and whispered in his ear for a moment before pulling back and looking into Nico's onyx colored eyes. Nico paused for a moment but then seemed to relent and nodded his head.

Percy kissed the top of his head before releasing him from the embrace. Then he turned back to his other companions and found Jason looking uncomfortably at the ground beneath him.

"Jason," he said solemly. "Can you please carry Zoe to the ship."

"Of," he paused for just a second then found his nerve. "Of course I will."

Percy gave him an appreciative nod and then knelt down to Bianca's body. He felt his heart break as he scooped her out of the blood soaked ground. He held her tight in her arms as they began to make the trek out of the House of Hades.

**A.N: I'm not sure I liked how this came out. Hopefully it's okay. Let me know what you thought. And sorry for the long delay... Been a busy few weeks.**


	12. Grief and Visitors

Ch. 12

Percy's head lay back against the chair he was sitting in. The room was dark with the exception of a flickering candle sitting at the bedside.

He was silent as he sat, still wearing his armor from the battle inside the House of Hades. His helm sat on his lap as he fidgeted with it nervously. They'd returned to the Argo II and wrapped Bianca's body in a black shroud before placing her in the bed she'd taken since joining the quest.

He'd stayed mostly silent since leaving his father's ancient temple. His mind was consumed with so many thoughts... Pain...Regret...Grief...Anger...Shame.

Bianca had been his responsibility. She was his sister, his family, and he had failed her. She'd only been in that cursed battle because he fell to Tartarus. Her death was on his hands and he was to blame for Nico losing the most important person in his life.

He wanted to blame someone else; Annabeth for allowing her to come after him at the Doors of Death; his father for vanishing and letting his young siblings be captured by Gaea while searching for him. Piper or Jason for not protecting her in the battle and letting her face the monsters head on.

But those thoughts only intensified his guilt. None of them were to blame and he knew it. It was him who brought her into this world of monsters. It was him who trained her to fight and how nothing was more important in life than family. It was his actions that got her killed and it was his burden to carry for the rest of his days.

He wanted to lash out and destroy everything and everyone he could get his hands on. Carve a path of death and destruction through Greece until Gaea or one of her ugly giants showed their miserable faces. He wanted to burn the temple to his father to the ground and then confront his father for being absent when they needed him most. But he knew doing any of those things would likely get him and more people he loved killed.

He could live with his own death... He deserved it. But he couldn't put another person he loved in danger.

He looked at his bed and felt a pang of anxiety. Zoe lay sleeping still and would soon wake and learn about what happened. She'd find out that Bianca died trying to save them and he knew she would blame herself. It was her who had fallen into Tartarus and her who he threw himself in after. Thoughtlessly hurling himself into the abyss like he'd done all those years ago on the cliff in rural Maine.

He tensed as she started to stir again.

She'd done it a few times before but had yet to wake. Somehow he knew this time he wouldn't be so lucky. This time he'd have to explain everything to her and then watch her break a little when she turned the blame to herself.

Without thinking, he stood up. He loosened the straps on his breastplate and laid it down gently by his feet. The air felt cold on his bare chest as he slid into the bed beside her. He placed his hand on her stomach and felt her tense as she drew a deep breath.

She exhaled and her body relaxed as she placed her hand over his.

"P..Pe..Percy..." she mumbled softly.

His hand slid across her stomach causing her to shiver before he pulled her close to him.

"Shhhhh," He whispered as he buried his face in her neck. "Please Zoe, just lay with me for a minute."

Zoe's eyes opened and she pulled back to look at him. She was a little surprised to see he was half naked in bed with her, not that it was the first time it'd happened. She found his eyes and gazed into them for a moment before closing hers again and moving her head back so that Percy could hide his face in her flesh.

If there was one thing Zoe Nightshade knew, it was the look she'd found in the eyes of her love. He looked broken. The kind of broken one looks only when something tragic had happened. She wanted to ask what was wrong but her heart told her that what he needed right then was her to be with him and allow him to hold onto something he loved.

She didn't know how long they lay there. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. She felt moisture on her neck and knew Percy had silently wept. She had to control her feelings of dread. In all their time together, she'd seen him cry only once and that was upon seeing the soul of his deceased mother.

She gently traced her fingers up and down his back, following the ridges of his muscles and grazing the scars he'd acquired in his childhood and in battles over the past years.

"Bianca," he whispered hoarsely. "She..."

Zoe felt like a dagger was driven through her heart. Her hands moved to the back of Percy's head and pulled him deeper into her neck. She knew what he was trying to say, he didn't need to finish his sentence.

"Percy," she felt her own eyes sting as she tried to find the right words. Before she could, he pulled his face from her neck and placed his lips gently on hers. She let her eyes close and let herself get lost in his lips for a moment. She knew what lay ahead and she knew he was trying to do exactly what she wanted, delay the onset of reality. In that moment, there was nothing else, just him and her.

She wished it didn't have to end. She wished they could have held onto that moment forever and ignore everything that had happened and was to come. But as he slowly pulled his lips back and let them rest on her cheek, she could hear the fear in the ragged breath he sucked in.

They lay embracing in silence for a long moment before she had to break it.

"I'm so sorry..." She started but was stopped when he put a finger to her lips. She found his dark eyes looking into her own and knew how hard it was to keep himself together in that moment.

"It's over Zoe. It's not your fault. The Fates decided her destiny and there was nothing any of us could have done."

"But," she tried to argue but stopped when she saw him flinch ever so slightly.

"There is nothing left to do but give her a hero's rites and focus on the task at hand."

She swallowed hard and reigned in her own swirling emotions.

"And what is that?"

Percy leaned forward and kissed her softly on the forehead before rolling off the bed and pulling an old hooded sweatshirt from the floor. He pulled it on over his greaves and rolled his shoulders. trying to work out some of the stiffness.

"We finish this stupid quest." He said as the look in his eyes hardened. "And we make sure every giant and monster we see pay for what they took from me!" His voice cracked a little as he finished and he tried to cover it with a cough turning away from her.

Zoe looked at his back and felt the urge to disagree but then decided against it. This was clearly how Percy dealt with his grief. She wasn't going to ague with him, not yet at least. She pulled herself out of bed and finally felt how truly dirty she was. She had no idea how long they were down in Tartarus but however long it was, it showed.

"Okay. I need to shower but we can figure out the plan with the others in a little bit." She picked up some clothes and made to walk out when Percy grabbed her wrist. It startled her and she turned to look at him surprised.

"I love you." He said softly.

She felt oddly fearful of his tone. She stared at him for a minute before sliding her wrist out of his grasp and grabbing his stiff hand in hers.

"I know," she said. "And I love you too."

Percy didn't smile but his shoulders seemed to relax a fraction before she turned and exited the room on her way to the shower.

Line Break

The majority of the crew of the Argo II sat around the table in the ship's galley. An assortment of food lay in front of them but only a few picked at it, their appetites almost non-existent after the events of the day.

They had dragged the meal on for close to an hour, hoping Percy would come talk with them. He'd barely said a word before vanishing with the still unconscious Zoe into their room. No one was really sure how he was going to react. What he'd done inside the House of Hades was something none of them had seen before. They had trouble describing it until Annabeth compared it to the wrath of Achilles in Troy after the death of Patroclus.

It hadn't been a display of demigod power. It was a display of the fury and wrath of a man who'd lost something dear to his heart. He'd cut through an army of monsters like they were straw dummies and walked away like it was a casual stroll in the park.

Needless to say, no one wanted to go find him.

No, until they knew his state of mind, it was better to let him come to them. Hopefully Zoe would calm him as she had done so many times before, as Annabeth remembered well.

Nico sat in his chair, eyes red but he kept himself under control. He'd taken his brother's words to heart and pushed his grief down as best he could. Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo all sat in silence, none knowing what to say. Hazel stared blankly at her empty plate, deep in thoughts as she thought about the battle inside the House of Hades. Even Coach Hedge was quiet, nibbling on about his tenth napkin since they'd sat down.

The door of the galley opened and though it wasn't overly loud, the sound startled the entire group as they collectively jumped at the noise. All eyes turned to the door where Percy Jackson stood. Zoe was behind him and they both eyed the room for a moment before walking to the table and taking two open seats across from Jason and Annabeth.

As they sat, all eyes in the room were on the two, and the tension kept everyone quiet, waiting. The Argo II was sailing on autopilot in the general direction of Athens, though Leo had set the speed to barely a crawl, deciding to wait until Percy gave some input on where they should be heading next.

Despite the nervous stares at him, Percy just reached forward and grabbed a slice of pizza, inhaling half the slice in one massive bite as he hungrily ate the first food he'd had since his night in Damasen's hut.

He pulled the remaining pieces of pepperoni from his pizza and set them on the floor. Before anyone could even wonder what he was doing, a loud meow was heard as Bob jumped through the open doorway in his tabby cat form and bounded for the greasy pieces of meat, eating them up hungrily in a matter of seconds.

Despite his casual actions, the tension in the room was so thick it was palpable. It was Annabeth who finally grew the nerve to speak.

"Percy," she said softly. "I'm sorry..."

"That my sister is dead," he finished for her making Annabeth flinch at his callous statement. "Thank you." His words were kind but he also didn't look up to meet her eyes making Annabeth lower her head sadly. When no one else spoke, Percy inhaled the last of his pizza slice and looked up at his friends.

"What? My sister died. None of you eating isn't going to bring her back. Eat. I don't blame any of you. But you just sitting around moping isn't going to help anything. We will all mourn her in our own way, in our own time. For now, we have a job to do and if we don't do it, then she died for nothing. I, for one, am not going to let her death be in vain."

Percy spoke to the group as a whole but he kept his eyes on Nico who sat with his arms crossed and a look to uncertainty on his face. The two children of Hades stared at each other for a long minute, neither willing to relent in their silent argument. Finally Nico turned his head away from Percy. He didn't look pleased but he reached for some pizza and made a show of taking a bite to satisfy Percy's request.

Zoe watched the exchange in silence. She had her own feelings about all of this but she knew the wisdom to Percy's words. Moping around and not eating was not going to help them defeat the giants and stop the rise of Gaea.

Bob jumped up into her lap and nuzzled his head under her hands, seemingly sensing her thoughts. She couldn't help but smile a little at him. The little monster was starting to grow on her, despite her attempts to resist.

"Um," Leo said unsurely. "Is that thing safe?"

In response, Bob turned towards the small latino and hissed, making the son of Hephaestus lean back, as if Bob's reaction was something he could get away from.

Before Percy could answer, Zoe spoke up, "He is safe. He is a monster but he is a good monster."

"A good monster?" Jason said unable to hide his doubt.

"Very good. Without him, we'd never have been able to escape Tartarus." Percy answered then turned to Leo. "Safe is perhaps not the right word. I think loyal would be a better word. And he is also quite smart. I'm not sure how or how much but he absolutely understands what is said to him."

"But Percy," Jason tried to reason. "How can we be sure he won't kill one of us in a battle or something? I'm sorry man, I just don't think this is the best idea."

Percy thought for a moment as he decided how to best answer. Finally he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe he will. But he's also my friend and mine and Zoe's new cat. So Bob is here to stay. He is quite helpful in sticky situations and if the cat goes from this quest, then so do I, so unless you want to go on without me, then Bob is the newest member of the quest."

Jason looked like he wanted to argue more but a couple pointed glares from both Annabeth and Piper quickly shut him up.

Bob jumped up from Zoe's lap and onto the table. He walked right across and sat down in front of Piper's plate. She regarded the cat with an eyebrow raised but when he just stared back at her, she shrugged and reached out to scratch under his chin. The table began to vibrate as the cat's thunderous purr reverberated through the room.

"He's pretty cute." Piper grinned. "I think he'll be a fine addition to the quest."

Bob leaned down and started to lap up the cheese on the cold slice of pizza in front of Piper.

"Sure, I wasn't going to eat that anyway," she sighed and reached for a fresh plate and slice.

"So, we've been waiting for you," Annabeth decided this was the best time to get to business. "We've set a course for Athens, but we've been waiting for you two to make a final decision."

Percy was about to speak up when a golden light filled the room. They all instinctively shielded their eyes but reached for weapons as best they could. When the light dimmed, they all turned with weapons drawn and immediately froze.

A tall woman stood at the doorway of the room. Her hair was black and face stern and regal. She wore black robes with a goat skin cloak over her shoulders. She held a staff topped with a lotus flower and none failed to recognize the goddess.

"Juno," Percy stated firmly. His tone wasn't angry, nor was it friendly, more like grudging respect as he slowly dropped to a knee, which the rest quickly did as well.

"Heroes," Juno said in a commanding tone. "The end of your journey draws nigh. To the Acropolis you must go but first you must be prepared."

They looked between each other, unsure what that meant exactly.

"Uh," Leo said awkwardly. "Prepared for what? To fight, I think we're ready."

Juno swept her piercing brown eyes towards the son of Hephaestus making him shrink back.

"You will need the gods to fight alongside you. Jupiter refuses to listen to reason. He has cast many gods from Olympus, myself included."

The demigods glanced around again, unsettled and unsure what to make of that statement. Before anyone could respond, the goddess continued.

"Go to Olympia. Find and capture Nike. She will be needed to drive Jupiter's chariot when he realizes he must answer the call."

"Capture Nike?" Annabeth asked raising an eyebrow. "Why does she need to be captured?"

Juno looked annoyed that she needed to explain herself but answered nonetheless.

"The gods are in chaos. With the Greeks and Romans coming together, the gods are struggling to control their aspects." As she said it, her image shimmered and her facial features softened. Her goat skin cloak vanished along with her robes, morphing into a glowing white gown, a cloak of peacock feathers draped over her shoulders.

The goddess pressed her hands to her temples, as if she had a splitting headache.

Her body shimmered again, flickering back and forth between her Roman form and Greek until it solidified again and Juno stood before them.

"The gods are not themselves. Capture Nike and bring her to the Acropolis. Then find the twin archers. They have been cast down as well and will be needed in the final battle."

Zoe's eyes went wide at hearing Artemis had been cast out of Olympus. She stepped forward to speak but Juno's body was already beginning to glow.

"I have told you what I can. Make haste, my heroes, for the rise of Gaea fast approaches." Juno turned and her fierce brown eyes met Percy's. "Death and grief will haunt your travels lest you convince Apollo to give you the physician's cure."

Percy's mouth opened but he was forced to turn away as the goddess went supernova and vanished from the ship's galley.

Everyone stood in stunned silence for a moment, trying to comprehend the goddess' words.

"We must find Artemis and Apollo!" Zoe announced with certainty. "We should..."

"No," Percy cut her off.

"What?" She snapped at him. "But you heard..."

"I heard her, Zoe. And Artemis and Apollo are cast out, not in danger. The more difficult task will be capturing Nike and the journey to Olympia is quickest."

Zoe stared at her boyfriend like he'd spoken in another language. She opened her mouth to argue but he slowly shook his head as his eyes went to the door, a sign he wanted to discuss it in private.

Zoe ground her teeth in frustration and spun on her heel and marched out of the room. She slammed the door on her way out, in case not everyone was sure of how angry she was.

Percy just stared at the door for a minute then turned to Annabeth.

"I need that big brain of yours Annabeth. Find out everything you can about the physician's cure. We need to know what it is before we find Artemis and Apollo."

Annabeth's mind was already working overdrive, trying to think of where she might find the answers they needed.

"I need my laptop." She said more to herself as she headed out the door and to her room.

"Leo, get us to Olympia as fast as this ship can take us."

Leo straightened up and gave an over exaggerated salute, "Aye, aye captain! I'll give it all she's got!" His voice was a bad impersonation of Scotty from Star Trek and sadly, only he found the reference amusing.

"Everyone else get ready. This isn't going to be easy." He looked at Jason and Piper who still appeared to be thinking of the goddess' words. "I need a minute to talk to my siblings."

Jason and Piper got the hint and followed Leo out of the room. Percy turned his attention to Hedge, who was still munching on a napkin. He glared at the satyr until Hedge finally looked up and then looked embarrassed.

"Right! Valdez will need my help! I'll make sure that cupcake gets us there in double time."

Hedge bleated and then caught himself, clearing his throat and hopping out of the room on his goat hooves.

Percy turned to the last two people in the room, Nico and Hazel and his expression softened for a minute before turning hard.

**A.N: Been busy lately but still working. More to come. Let me know what you thought!**


	13. Blows to the Head Hurt

Ch. 13

Percy took a seat at the table, Hazel and Nico both watching him warily. It wasn't that they were scared of him; no, Percy would never do anything to hurt them. But his unpredictability gave them both a sense of unease. Even if he hadn't showed it yet, they both knew how badly he was hurting on the inside.

Percy pushed the plate in front of him into the middle of the table and then placed his hands at the edge of the table. His fingers gripped the wooden edge and his body tensed. Hazel could see his knuckles turning white. She was about to say something when he finally relaxed. He looked at her and then at Nico before he lowered his head.

"I'm sorry."

Those two words hung over the room as neither child of the god of the dead knew what to make of it.

"Percy," Hazel began when Nico cut her off.

He stood up from his seat and walked over to his brother. His body was tense and for a moment, Hazel thought he was going to attack him.

Nico put a hand on his shoulder and took a shuddering breath, "It's not your fault."

Percy looked up and opened his mouth to say something when Hazel rose from her chair. She walked over and put her hands on Percy's cheeks. She kissed him softly on the forehead and gave him a smile as a tear trailed down her cheek.

Percy closed his eyes for a moment then let out a ragged breath as he pushed his emotions deep down.

"Alecto will come for Bianca's body. Once we've finished this, we'll give her the proper honors," he paused as he realized how unlikely that was given what lay ahead of them, "or, we'll join her."

Both Nico and Hazel frowned at his cryptic words but neither disagreed so they both remained silent. Nico pulled his hand from his older brother's shoulder and steeled himself.

As Percy watched Nico do exactly as he had done, he realized how much he'd grown up from the mischievous and sometimes annoying boy he'd found at the Wilderness School in Maine. He was taller, of course, but it was mostly his demeanor. Despite their lack of biological connection, no one could deny the fact that this was his kin. From his attitude to his mannerisms, he was just a smaller, Italian version of Percy Jackson.

"I'm going to go find Leo and see how long he thinks until we arrive in Olympia."

Percy nodded and watched as Nico walked away, his grief and sadness suppressed in order to focus on the task at hand. He couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at Nico's mature attitude towards the work that lay ahead.

He turned to Hazel and his lips twitched just a bit, "I thought it would have been you going to check on Leo..." He kept his expression stone faced as Hazel's dark cheeks managed to turn a little darker and she waved her hand at her face, an old fashioned gesture that broke Percy's stoicism.

He smiled and placed a kiss on her cheek, "Go ahead, he's a good kid."

Hazel's embarrassment only grew as Percy gave his unnecessary blessing. He walked past her then paused at the door without looking back.

"Of course, if he ever hurt you, what I did to those monsters in father's temple would look like a strong scolding compared to the pain I would inflict on him."

Percy didn't need to look back to know a smile had crept onto her face at his protective, albeit slightly sadistic, warning to a boy foolish enough to hurt her.

With his spirits lifted at the short but productive chat with his siblings, Percy exited the galley feeling a little better. Of course, his happiness was cut short when he saw the pair of beautiful but dangerous dark eyes glaring at his from the other end of the hallway.

-X-

Percy had seen that look before. In the past, it'd meant physical pain was almost certainly in his future. Nowadays, it was more likely he was about to get an ass chewing courtesy of an angry and irritated girlfriend.

_What part of dating an ex-hunter seemed like a good idea to his younger self?_

Of course he loved her and never regretted falling for her but in moments like this, he did wonder what it was like to date a girl who slightly less dangerous and not always carrying a concealed weapon.

Percy took a breath and steeled himself as he walked past Zoe and into the room they shared. Zoe didn't say anything when he walked past but when he heard the door slam behind him he felt a surge of anger at the impending argument.

"Why..." Was as far as she got. Percy held up his hand making her pause and giving him his chance to cut her off.

"Stop. I made the decision I thought was best. I know you want to go check on Artemis but Olympia is closer right now. If you want to take over the decision making, then by all means. But if everyone is gonna defer to me on everything else, then I'm making the call on this."

Zoe stared at him for a minute then opened her mouth but didn't say anything. She settled for glaring at Percy which only made his smile.

"Gods, you look sexy when you're pissed."

Her mouth opened then she tried to punch him in the ribs. He spun away and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her on the cheek then jumped back before she could smack him.

"Ugh, you're so frustrating." She growled.

"Endearingly so," he gave her a stupid smile. And instead of punching him, she just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"For now. But if something happens to Artemis..."

"Nothing is going to happen to Artemis," he said assuredly. "She's a goddess, she can take care of herself. Plus, she has Apollo..."

Zoe snorted, "Yeah, that's very reassuring. Because Apollo is so good at keeping himself out of trouble. In fact," she seemed to get angry as she went on, "it was probably that idiot Apollo who got them kicked off Olympus."

Percy turned his head so she wouldn't see him roll his eyes. If he had to guess, he figured Apollo was thrown off Olympus for coming to the defense of Artemis, who had more than likely been discovered making these foolish plans to unite the Greeks and Romans with Hera.

"Either way," Percy said hoping to put this subject to bed, "If there's one thing I know, it's that Apollo loves his sister. He won't do anything to put her in danger. So we'll stop off in Olympia, subdue a slightly bi-polar goddess and then we'll be on our way to find the twins."

She sighed loudly, "Right, just subdue a goddess, because that's just a walk in the park."

Percy shrugged, "Maybe more like a fun and exciting hike up a mountain but you're on the right track." He gave her a thumbs up to further convey his approval.

She rolled her eyes and walked past him and out of the room, muttering about idiot boys, which he wisely decided not to comment on. He was about to follow her out when the ship suddenly slowed and lurched to the side. Zoe came stumbling back through the open door.

Percy was about to catch her when she planted a foot in the doorway then allowed herself to roll backwards in a reverse somersault before she jumped back to her feet right in front of the bed. Percy was caught watching her nimble grace in awe when the candle from the bedside table came flying forward and cracked him in the back of the head. He heard the glass shatter and then the warm, wet and unfortunately familiar feel of his own blood leaking down the back of his head as he crumpled to the ground spouting curses that would have made the flowers of his mother's garden wilt.

"Gods, Percy!" Zoe knelt by his side and ripped a piece of her shirt off and pressed it to his wound.

"Ow! Damn it Zoe! Owww!"

She ignored his cries and kept the cloth to the back of his head as the ship seemed to have come to a stop.

"What just happened?" Percy grumbled as he rolled onto his butt while Zoe still kept pressure on his wound.

"I have no idea," she said pulling back on the cloth for a second before reapplying pressure as she winced at the size of the cut in his head. "And you need stitches, that's pretty bad."

Percy reached his hand back and pulled hers away, taking the cloth from her and holding it to his head, "Yeah, well we're fresh out of Apollo campers, so some ambrosia will have to do."

"No," she said firmly. "I'll stitch it just as soon as we find out what happened."

As if on cue, Hazel came hurrying down the hall before coming to a skidding halt at their door. When she saw Percy and then the blood covering both his and Zoe's hands, her eyes went wide in panic.

"It's fine, Hazel." Percy said with a small smile. "Just a little bump on the head, no big deal."

She didn't look convinced but Percy just pressed on, not wanting to deal with Hazel's endearing but unnecessary concern for him.

"What happened? Are we under attack?" Percy already had his trusty pen Anaklusmos gripped in the hand not holding the gash in his skull.

Suddenly, Hazel looked almost embarrassed. She shook her head but wouldn't meet his eyes.

"No, um, we, uh, kinda had an accident."

Percy didn't say anything and when Hazel finally looked up, she found him with an eyebrow raised, a mixture of concern and annoyance covering his face.

"What do you mean, an accident?"

Suddenly her face flushed.

"Well, LeowasshowingmehowtoruntheshipandIhitthewrongbuttonanditkindabroke"

Percy blinked a few times as he tried to comprehend that incredibly run-on and rushed sentence. Then his face turned into a frown.

"Leo let you drive and the ship broke?"

She bit her lip nervously, "Yeah, kinda."

He sighed loudly and suddenly had a flashback of himself as a young boy, standing before his father in the throne room of the Underworld. He'd gotten into trouble and was trying to explain himself and his father had made the exact same mixture of sigh and groan.

"Oh, gods," he muttered. "I'm turning into Dad."

"What?" Hazel asked confused.

"Nothing. How far are we from Olympia?" He decided it was not his place to disapprove of anyone doing something dumb, even if it had come at a terrible time.

"Close," she answered quickly. "Annabeth says we can walk from here, shouldn't be more than an hour's walk. Leo said he'd have the ship fixed soon and would meet us there."

"Okay great, we'll be right u... OW! What Zoe!" He grimaced as he got punched hard in the ribs.

"We need about a twenty minutes, Hazel." Zoe ignored his indignant look. "I'm going to clean and stitch up his head and then we'll be ready."

Hazel nodded and was about to run back to the deck of the ship when Percy spoke again.

"And tell Leo I'm looking for him. We're gonna have a chat... OW! Damn it Zoe! Stop hitting me. I'm already wounded, aren't I?"

"Ignore that Hazel. Percy doesn't need to talk to Leo. Just tell Annabeth we'll be ready to go soon."

Hazel looked at Percy, making sure he wasn't going to argue but he resigned himself to being under Zoe's command, at least until his head got fixed. The daughter of Pluto bounded away, obviously pleased to be done with the awkward conversation.

Once she was gone, Percy walked over the bed and sat down, still holding the piece of Zoe's shirt to his head. He scowled at the floor of their room.

"Anything else, commander Zoe?"

She smiled and started searching through her bag of belongings until she found the small, emergency med kit that she'd carried for years as a hunter.

"Not at the moment, no. Just sit still and let me get the wound cleaned and closed. Then you can go intimidate a fourteen year old for having a crush on a girl."

He opened his mouth to respond but then stopped himself, realizing he was fighting a battle he couldn't win. He could tell Zoe was pleased at his lack of response and she came over and put her hand on the back of his. Her other hand came around and held a piece of ambrosia in front of his leaned forward and grabbed the piece of godly food with his teeth. As he munched on it, he got the all too familiar rush of pain free euphoria that always accompanied the divine food. He barely noticed as Zoe cleaned and began to stitch up the cut in his skull. As he swallowed down the last mouthful, he heard the snip of the scissors and Zoe rubbing her hands together, clearly pleased with her work.

He gingerly put his fingers to the wound and was impressed with how clean and even the stitching felt.

"Not too bad." He admitted.

She just rolled her eyes and packed up her supplies. Percy turned to look at her and smirked when he saw that Zoe had ripped the cloth from her t-shirt sleeve. She'd apparently taken too much fabric as the rip went all the way to her shoulder. The way she stood bent over her pack, her shirt slipped down her arm and showed a very un-Zoe amount of cleavage. He wiped the smirk from his face.

"So apparently all I need to do is get a blow to the head to get you to start ripping your shirt off?" He forced himself not to chuckle as he prepared for her flustered and angry response.

She froze right away.

Then, to his surprise, she calmly finished packing up her medical stuff. She tucked it back into her belongings and then turned to look at him. Without a second's hesitation, she grabbed the bottom of her t-shirt and pulled it up over her head. She tossed the ripped garment on the floor and stood in front of Percy in just a black bra. His eyes went wide in surprise.

She walked closer to him and leaned down.

Percy sat as rigid as a board.

She reached past him and picked up an older shirt from their bed. In the process, she pushed her bra clad breasts right into his face. She forced herself to keep a straight face as she imagined his look of shock at her actions. She snatched up the shirt and took a step back. She slid the new t-shirt on and had to bite her tongue not to laugh at his look of disbelief.

She leaned down to his ear, "Perhaps, if we survive this war, you won't need to take a blow to the head to get me to take my clothes off."

Percy's mouth dropped open.

No words came out and Zoe just leaned forward and used two of her fingers to push his jaw back up.

"But for now, get your game face on, commander Percy. We've got a goddess to subdue."

She grabbed her bow and quiver and walked to the door. She looked back to see Percy still looking dazed. She snapped her fingers.

"Come on Percy, you should know by now, it's never good to keep a goddess or a lady waiting." She winked and walked out of the room.

Percy sat there for another minute, his mind blank as he tried to think if that had really just happened or he'd hallucinated it after the blow to his head. He absentmindedly pulled his armor on and stood up. The image of Zoe standing there, in just a bra was seared into his brain. He walked to the doorway and started to shake his head.

He had to give her credit, she certainly knew how to motivate a nineteen year old boy.

He smiled and took off in the direction of the deck of the ship, suddenly very interested in defeating Gaea and seeing what life had in store for him if he managed to survive this war.

**A.N: It's a short filler but it felt needed. Plus it was kinda fun to to write. Off to find Nike next chapter, so lace up your Adidas and get ready for the final stretch of this story.**


	14. Big Adidas Fan

Ch. 14

When Percy appeared on the deck of the ship, Jason, Piper, Annabeth and Zoe were all standing together, discussing the best way of finding the goddess. When their eyes turned to him, he suddenly felt very self conscious, like they were all discussing how Zoe had froze him with a little sexual innuendo.

"What?!" He barked, but the minute he said it, he felt like an idiot. Why in the name of the gods would they be talking about that? "Uh, I mean," he felt himself turning red in embarrassment. "Where are Nico and Hazel?"

Zoe had an eyebrow arched and a smirk tugging at her lips, well aware pf why he was still flustered.

"Helping Leo. I told them to stay behind, the five of us can handle this."

"Right," he rubbed the back of his head. "So, let's get moving."

Annabeth gave him a strange look, wondering why he was all worked up. But she just shrugged her shoulders and headed for the gangplank. Jason followed right behind, Piper a little ways behind, checking her weapons as she walked.

Zoe waited for him to start to follow before bumping him with her hip, a devious smile on her face.

"I never knew how easy it is to fluster the mighty Percy Jackson." She whispered so only he could hear.

He gave her a slight glare then took a step to the left, right into the shadow of one of the ship's masts. He vanished from sight only to reappear from another shadow on the other side of her, giving her a playful bump back and almost knocking her off the top of the gangplank. He grabbed her hand and caught her before she could fall, his lips quirking into his own teasing smirk.

"Head on a swivel there, dearest. Sometimes you just don't see things coming."

She gave him a playful scowl as she regained her footing and followed behind him. She reached her arm forward and pressed two fingers into a spot on his left side, six inches below his armpit. To most people, it looked like a small poke in the ribs. But as soon as she touched that spot, Percy's body went rigid and a cold shiver went down his body.

Zoe snuck past him and laughed softly to herself, "I'd been wondering if that spot still did that. I guess the Styx left it's mark on you for good."

When Zoe reached the ground, she found Annabeth looking at her strangely. Piper and Jason were both feigning interest in the side of the ship.

"What?" Zoe asked turning her expression stern.

Annabeth just stared at her for a minute and then at Percy, who was just reaching the ground. She shook her head, "Nothing. You two, you're just acting..."

Zoe's eyes narrowed and her expression morphed into one she knew quite well; warning, don't push it.

"Nothing," Annabeth turned her head to roll her eyes, "You two just seem unfocused."

"We literally just walked off the ship, jeez Annie, when we find Nike, I promise she'll have my undivided attention."

"I hope so," Annabeth said turning to start walking. "I have a bad feeling about this."

No one asked what she meant, though Percy wanted to ask when she had had a good feeling about anything on this quest but he decided it was best to just let the conversation end.

They walked for close to forty minutes before reaching Olympia. Percy hadn't really thought about what to expect but found himself a little awestruck what before them.

Directly in front of them lay the ruins of what appeared to be the world's oldest athletic complex. There was an unordered arrangement of various buildings. Almost all were ancient ruins. The only exceptions were a huge modern museum and what appeared to be a gift shop. To the west, he could see a hippodrome where they held chariot races in ancient times. He could see the Gymnasium in the distance as well and in the background loomed Mount Kronos.

_Just thinking that name sent a shiver down his back. They seriously had to name the mountain after that dick?_

"So," Annabeth said looking around. "Any idea of where to look?"

"Shouldn't there be people here?" Piper asked looking around with her eyes narrowed. "This place should be teeming with tourists."

"You're right," Jason said then looked like he regretted it. Apparently he thought agreeing with his ex-girlfriend in front of his current, uh, friend, was a bad idea. Percy had to bite back a laugh at his awkward expression, though neither Annabeth or Piper seemed to notice or care.

"Yeah," Zoe said as she looked ready to pull her bow off her shoulder in the blink of an eye. "Something is steering the mortals away from this place."

"Maybe Nike is going to throw us a huge party to celebrate all our victories so far?" Percy offered. No one responded and he frowned at his uptight friends.

"Maybe we should start at the temple to Zeus," Annabeth offered. "There's supposed to be a statue of Nike in his temple."

"Yes," Percy said in mock excitement. "_Let's go visit Zeus, he's been super helpful so far!"_

"Hey," Jason interjected. "That's my Dad."

Percy looked at him expectantly. When Jason didn't say anything else, Percy held out his hand to Jason, "Hey, welcome to being a demigod where you find out where the term deadbeat parent was created. If there was a temple to Hades or Poseidon, I would have said the exact same thing. Gods. Kinda. Suck."

Jason glared at him but Percy just rolled his eyes and gestured for Annabeth to lead on. They walked on warily. They admired the structures, all of them with the exception of Zoe imagining what they looked like in ancient times. She, of course, had seen them when they were actually used for the Olympics, not that she had particular fond memories of the place. The hunters had witnessed the games only so Artemis could show them the vanity of men.

Dozens of sweaty nude men running around and wrestling each other... No thanks.

They passed the temple of Hera and they all seemed to have similar thoughts about her and they all consisted of a single finger salute, though none were brave enough to actually do it. In the distance, they saw the temple of Zeus. They slowed down as they neared it. But to their dismay, they did not find any goddesses hanging around waiting to be subdued by a group of demigods.

"Maybe we can make an offering to Nike." Jason suggested. "If the goddess is around, she may appear to us."

"Damn, I have sweet pair of Adidas kicks back on the ship. Maybe she..." Percy stopped when there was a flash of light in front of them. They all tensed, expecting to the see the goddess but instead, a half dozen statues appeared in front of Zeus' temple.

"What the..." Piper began when the statues all move in unison, drawing spears and looking ready for a fight.

"PERCY!" Zoe yelled.

Annabeth and Piper were both knocked off their feet from their spots on either side of Percy. They rose with their weapons drawn and found their friend inside a golden cage. Floating in the air above him was a beautiful and tall woman. She wore a glittering sleeveless dress and her dark hair was in piled-up braids circled in a gilded laurel wreath. She had shining gold wings and held a gold tipped spear in her hand. Her eyes were wide and looked wild, like she had overdone the Redbull consumption by a few hundred cans.

"ADIDAS!" She yelled down at Percy. "I should crush you for your ignorance! Those cheap knock offs could never compete with Nike! We make a quality product used by the greatest athletes in the world!"

Percy looked around at his golden cage and was already mentally cursing himself. Of course it was him who got locked in the cage... He always was the favorite with pissed off immortals. He looked up at the goddess with irritation.

"Yeah, I'm sure those six year olds Asian kids make a hell of a sneaker."

The goddess' eyes somehow managed to go wider and her face contorted into what looked like an excited scowl?

"You dare insinuate my product is inferior?"

Percy glared right back at her, "Let me out of this cage and I promise I'll give you my real opinion of all things Nike related."

The goddess seemed to consider this but then her image shimmered. Her appearance didn't change much but her face did seem to get sterner and her dress took on a deep purple color.

"Silence, you fool! We have business to attend to!" Her image shimmered again and she looked like her original self.

"Right! The competition!" She turned to look at Percy's four companions who where standing around his cage with their weapons drawn, though none seemed sure of what to do.

"Uh," Annabeth asked. "Are you talking to us?"

"NO!" The goddess yelled. "I'm talking to her!"

Annabeth looked at Piper and Zoe, neither looked like they knew what she meant.

"Um, who?"

"ME!" The goddess screamed as her image flickered again. She was flickering back and forth between the two different images and it was actually started to make all of them a little dizzy."

"She's talking to Victoria." Jason said as he watched her two counterparts apparently duke it out for control of her form.

"Yes!" The goddess agreed.

"No!" The goddess disagreed.

"Holy shit, you're giving me a headache!" Percy yelled from beneath the goddess. "Just get the the gods damned point!"

"It is perfect!" The goddess exclaimed ignoring Percy. "We have equal teams! To the winners will go the laurels." Her image flickered again. "And the losers, well, they'll be dead, so who cares!"

"What?" Annabeth asked, not sharing the goddess' excitement. Instead of answering, Nike waved her hand and all their worlds' turned to darkness.

When their visions cleared, they found themselves inside the hippodrome. All throughout it were variance bunkers and trenches. Ancient stone blocks filled the area and sitting atop one of them, was the goddess herself, currently in her Nike aspect.

"Welcome heroes!" She boomed, her excitement clearly evident. "You shall all have the privilege of finally answering a debate that has raged since the formation of Rome!" Her image flickered to Victoria and she looked down at them expectantly, apparently looking for them to show their appreciation.

She frowned down at them and Zoe yelled back up, "Where is Percy?"

Victoria rolled her eyes at the question. She waved her hand to an area to the side of the hippodrome.

"Let him go! You want us to compete, then free our friend!"

Victoria wagged a finger at Zoe, "No! No! Perseus Jackson cannot be allowed to compete. He would destroy the fairness of the competition! He will stay where he is until a victor is decided!"

"What the Hell!" Percy yelled from his cage. "I love to compete! Let me go and let one of them sit out!"

The goddess changed into Nike and shook her head, "Impossible. You have defeated gods and titans. With you on one team, it was be an unfair advantage. These four make for fair and even teams."

"Teams for what!?" Piper demanded of the goddess.

Nike tilted her head to the side and it was hard to tell which aspect was currently in control, "To decide the most important question of the war, of course. Who is more powerful, the Greeks or the Romans?"

Her statement hung over the hippodrome heavily. They all had a feeling about the answer, but Jason still had to ask.

"And we're going to decide that, how?"

To that, Nike smiled, "You will fight, like in the ancient times, to the death. The survivors are the victors and their group will be deemed superior. It is perfect, we have two Greeks," Nike pointed at Zoe and Annabeth, "and two Romans." Victoria pointed to Jason and Piper.

"Are you crazy?!" After she said it, Annabeth kind of felt stupid. Of course this goddess was nuts, it didn't really need to be said. "We're not going to kill each other!"

"Yes you will," the goddess answered, "or you will all die. My Nikai will destroy all four if you refuse to compete.

The statues that had appeared in front of Zeus' temple flew overhead. Somehow, their stone wings allowed them to fly, because that totally made sense.

Percy slammed against the golden bars of his cage, desperately trying to break free. He uncapped Anaklumos and tried to cut through the bars but only got a face full of sparks and a painful ringing in his arms when his blade clanged off.

"I swear on the gods, Nike! Let me out or I'll show you why I'm not allowed in this battle!"

Nike flicked her wrist and a gust of wind blew Percy right off his feet and sent him slamming into the bars of the cage.

"Stop it!" Zoe screamed.

Nike rolled her eyes, "As soon as he's calm, he won't be harmed. But you girl, you should be more worried about yourself."

"We're not doing this stupid challenge!" Jason said with as much authority as he could. "My father will never stand for this!"

Victoria gave him a deadpan look, "Right. Because Jupiter will really care about a demigod who couldn't even defeat a couple Greeks."

Her image flickered back to Nike, "Four minutes! Prepare yourselves heroes! You represent your entire civilizations! The battle will begin in exactly three minutes and forty seven seconds!"

The goddess vanished from her spot atop the stone ruins. The four heroes all looked between each other, unsure of what to do. Though none of them said it, there was a very real fear sitting in the back of all their minds. If they couldn't stop her, they may actually have to play her sick little game. They'd have to fight it out to the death and while they were terrified of the idea of hurting one of their friends, deep down, they more deeply feared being on the losing end of that battle.

"Annabeth," Zoe said urgently. "Do you have any ideas?"

Her mind was working overdrive but the only way out of this that came to mind was defeating the goddess. And considering they didn't even know where she was at the moment, that seemed especially difficult.

"We should try to free Percy. Maybe all of us together can manage to defeat Nike. Hera said we would have to subdue her. Even if we can overcome her, I don't know how we'll be able to keep her under control."

"Anyone have something that can contain a goddess?" Jason asked, even if he knew the answer.

"On the ship," Piper said as the thought hit her. "I thought Leo had some kind of imperial gold rope or something. Isn't that what the gods used to tie up Jupiter when they tried to overthrow him?"

"The ship is miles away." Annabeth frowned, "Unless they get it fixed and show up in the next two minutes, that's not going to help."

"Let's just try to get Percy free." Jason said as he turned and ran towards the cage. He only made it about halfway when a trio of the stone statues of the Nike dropped down in front of him. They crossed their spears to block his path. Jason drew his gladius and charged at them.

For being made of stone, those things were quite nimble. One lunged forward to meet his strike. They met sword versus spear before a second came and locked Jason's blade between it's and the other spear. The third lunged forward and kicked Jason square in the chest. He flew back about five feet and skidded to a stop in the dirt.

The three girls ran to him as he lay on the ground gasping for breath. He unhook his breast plate and threw it to the ground next to him. A footprint was imbedded deep in the imperial gold armor where the Nikai had kicked him.

"So," Jason wheezed. "That's not gonna work." Annabeth helped him to his feet as he rubbed the growing bruise in his check.

"Fifteen seconds, heroes!" Nike announced from the top of a nearby block of stone. "And for every minute you refuse to battle, I will send two Nikai into the arena with the sole purpose of removing one combatant from each side."

Jason and Piper looked over at Annabeth and Zoe. They all looked nervous but a silent understanding passed between them.

"BEGIN!"

Piper drew her gladius and lunged at Annabeth who barely managed to raise her dagger in time. Zoe pulled out two hunting knives and charged at Jason. They went back and forth, neither able to gain an advantage until Zoe dropped low and kicked his feet out from under him. Instead of attacking, Zoe turned and ran towards the nearest stone. A pair of Nikai swooped down to intercept her.

"No!" Nike ordered and the two stone warriors veered off. Zoe scrambled up the block of ancient stone and pulled her bow from her shoulder. "Ah, yes!" Nike cheered. "Well done, huntress. An aerial assault is a fine tactic!"

Zoe had to stop herself from opening up fire at the goddess. She pulled an arrow and took aim at Jason's chest and fired. He rolled away and into a small trench just as two more arrows hit the spot he'd been standing. Zoe turned towards Piper and Annabeth and saw Annabeth quickly being overwhelmed and fired a trio of arrows as the Roman demigoddess. Piper swatted away the first and then jumped aside to avoid the other two.

Percy watched in horror and his three friends and girlfriend were locked in a fight to the death. He had no idea why they were taking part in the goddess' madness. He threw his shoulder into the cage several times but as expected, did nothing but hurt his shoulder. He began pacing anxiously in his gilded jail as he cursed himself when he caught himself mentally rooting for the deaths of Piper and Jason.

He saw Jason taking cover in a trench and slowing trying to crawl into a spot with better cover so he could reenter the foray. Just as he peaked his head out, one of Zoe's arrows whizzed by him and grazed his shoulder as he jumped back.

Percy tried to break free again and was pretty sure he popped his shoulder out in the process. He wasn't even aware of the low growl that was emanating from deep in his chest. He paced around more until he saw something that froze him in his tracks.

A shadow was just outside the cage, cast by one of the stone blocks littering the hippodrome. He looked up and saw the sun was beginning the set in the west, right behind the stone. He felt a wave of excitement course through him.

His pacing turned rabid as the shadow moved agonizingly slow towards his cage. He tried to pull it to him but the cage seemed to block out his powers. He feared his hopes would be crushed but didn't allow that thought to even cross his mind.

Zoe cursed when her arrow clipped Jason. Her mind was clearly distracted and it was throwing her aim off. She turned and fired another arrow at Piper after she connected with a glancing blow to Annabeth's leg. The daughter of Athena dropped to a knee and held a hand to her wound. Piper took a step back and caught her breath.

"I'm not seeing a lot of aggression!" Nike yelled from her perch. "Perhaps things will move quicker with two more combatants!"

Two the Nikai swooped down. The first went for Piper who turned her attention away from Annabeth and towards her new enemy. She went sword to spear with the Nikai and managed to hold her own.

Zoe almost didn't see the other until it was too late. The stone spear was less than a foot from her back when she threw herself off her perch. She hit the ground and cried out when her ankle twisted.

"Go for the kill! While they are distracted!" Nike ordered.

Zoe looked at Piper and saw she was bleeding from a few wounds in her arms but was still managing to hold her ground. Zoe rolled away as her attacker hit the ground with a small boom right where she'd been standing.

She was screwed.

And the worst part was she knew it.

Without her speed and agility, she was a sitting duck. She managed to deflected a few blows with her bow before a heavy sandaled stone foot pinned her to the ground. The Nikai already had it's weapon raised. She resigned herself to death and turned to Percy's cage, hoping for one last look at the man she loved.

Percy was gone.

A stone head hit the ground with a thud right next to her. She saw a shadow passing over the decapitated Nikai before a shower of stone dust showered her body.

She turned toward Piper right as a figure popped out of a shadow to her left. Percy lunged out and wrapped an arm around the stone head and then spun his body around, ripping the statue's head right off its body in the process.

"NO!" Nike screamed. "NO! NO! NO! That is against the rules!"

Percy took the head and hurled it right at the goddess' observation post. She ducked to avoid it and waved her hand at Percy. The gold cage hit the ground around the spot his stood.

But Percy was no longer there. He reappeared out of another shadow and pointed a finger at the goddess.

"I'm not big on rules, I tend to play by my own!"

The other Nikai swooped down from the sky and tried to grab Percy. He cut the arm off one and the rolled away from the other. He jumped to his feet and ducked the outstretched arms of a third before popping up and slicing its stone wings right off with Anaklusmos.

Percy spun around and twirled Anaklusmos him his hand until his held it pointing down by the hilt with both hands. He drove the blade into the earth, sending a crack through the floor of the hippodrome.

Skeletal hands crawled out of the ground, three at a time as Nike's image flickered between her two aspects, both so furious that seemed to be fighting for control of the goddess' form.

Another Nikai plunged from the sky towards Percy but two of the skeleton warriors jumped in its path while a third jumped on its back and brought it to the ground. The undead piled on the Nikai until the stone creature was nothing but a pile of dust.

"ENOUGH!" Nike roared. She floated down from her perch until she reached the ground. She pointed her spear at Percy, a look to rage on her face.

"You have ruined the contest! I will destroy you for your insolence!"

Percy met the goddess' stare with his own.

"Very well, my lady. But no more games. You wish for a fair contest, then keep your pets away. A simple battle, one on one." He looked around to make sure his friends were all okay and found both Zoe and Annabeth shaking their heads to stop him from doing such a stupid thing. He ignored them and knew he'd regret it later but had to end this now before someone died.

"You think you can defeat me, mortal?" The goddess was intrigued, even excited at the challenge. "I accept your challenge!"

Suddenly a dozen more Nikai appeared out of thin air. They formed a wide circle around Percy and the goddess.

"Just to ensure your friends do not come to your aide."

Percy tightened the straps of the greaves covering his forearms. He spun Anaklusmos in his hands and lowered into a crouch, doubts starting to flood his mind at his rash decision.

"Fair enough."

Nike moved with speed that would have made Artemis jealous. She thrust her spear at his head and Percy had to stumble back to avoid making this the shortest fight in his life. He raised his sword and blocked a second and third and rolled away before the goddess could get inside his guard.

Before he could even hop back up, she was on him. She sent a quick jab that glanced off his forearm and opened a gash right above his elbow. He stumbled back and shook his arm as he tried to block out the pain.

"I expected more, Perseus Jackson. You have drawn the fear of even mighty Lord Zeus. But it seems like so many heroes before you, the legend is far bigger than the man."

Percy shook his arm, sending the blood splattering across the ground. He held out his hand and a Greek helm shot from the ground. He placed the helmet on his head, the pure black horsehair plume rising up and seeming to absorb some the rays from the setting sun.

He activated the shield Zoe had given him and lowered himself into ready position.

"I'm gonna dab over your limp body before this is over."

Apparently Nike knew what a dab was because she ran at him with renewed furor. To the four demigods, her movements were hard to follow. She looked like a blur as she jabbed and stabbed at Percy who blocked and ducked each move with a speed that surprised the goddess. When she failed to land a blow, she grew frustrated and grew reckless. She overextended on a strike and Percy ducked.

He lunged forward and slammed his shield into her chest. Before she could recover, he unleashed a fury to strikes that pushed Nike back, forcing her to use her spear to defend herself. Even with her godly abilities, she had difficulty his blade from her flesh.

Percy struck again and the two weapons locked between the combatants and Percy let his shield drop from his hand. Before it hit the ground, he kicked it right into the goddess' shins. He made to slash at her head and when she raised her spear, he dove forward, slicing his blade across her thigh before he somersaulted forward.

Nike screeched in pain and golden ichor trickled down her leg from the blow. She whirled around only for Percy to dive into a shadow and vanish. He reappeared behind her and she barely turned into time to stop his from slicing her head clean off her body.

She rolled backwards and was back on her feet before Percy could attack again. She eyed him with a new respect but refused to believe this mere mortal could stand with her in hand to hand combat.

Percy ran towards another shadow and disappeared. This time Nike grinned. She opened her senses and then jumped to her left. Percy popped out right in front of her and couldn't recover in time to stop the goddess' spear from impaling him through the upper chest above his breast plate.

"PERCY!" Zoe screamed as she and the others tried to run towards him. The Nikai blocked their paths and grabbed hold of them, not attacking but just holding them in place and keeping them from helping.

The goddess ripped her spear out and sent Percy's body crashing to the ground from the violent removal of her weapon.

Percy tried to get back to his feet but found his strength draining from him along with his blood. Nike kicked him in the back as he tried to get up and Anaklusmos skittered away from him.

"A fine effort, young demigod. But I am Nike! I don't lose!"

Percy managed to get to his knees but froze when he felt the tip of Nike's spear prod him in the back.

"This is where you meet your end." Nike announced so everyone could hear. Zoe continued to struggle against the Nikai but could do nothing.

Nike pulled her spear back and thrust it towards his back with as much force as she could.

Percy fell forward just before he would have been run through and sent the goddess stumbling forward past him. He jumped to his feet and grabbed a handful of dirt. When Nike whirled around to stab him again, he tossed the dirt in her face causing her to stumble back.

"ACCEPT YOUR END!" She roared and lunged at him. Percy rolled underneath her wild strike, off target from the dirt in her eyes. He jumped up as a spear shot from the earth. He caught it out of the air, flipped it around in his hands and swung with every ounce of strength he had. The bronze shaft cracked Nike in the back of the head with such force the weapon snapped in half, one end flying into the feet of Jason who was being held by a Nikai.

Nike crumpled to the ground in a heap and lay motionless.

Percy took an unsteady step towards her and then looked around at his friends.

He grinned, "Bitch Dab." He dipped his head into his raised elbow, then promptly collapsed backwards into the ground.

**A.N: That was the longest one in a long while. Hope it was good, it was fun to write. And just a warning, there will be, uh, some adult scenes coming up. Nothing crazy, just how I imagine how a realistic scenario would play out if it was really happening... Uh, you'll see. Don't read if you're easily upset by that stuff.**


	15. That's New

**Ch. 15**

**A.N: adult scene at the end of the chapter... if you don't like that stuff, don't read that section. And if you ignore the warning, don't bitch.., you were warned.**

The first thing Percy saw when he opened his eyes was a pair of onyx orbs gazing down at him incredulously.

"Did you seriously just dab?"

It took him a minute before he placed them. When he did, he felt a myriad of emotions flood his mind. He tried to focus enough to speak but all he could muster was a single word.

"Bianca."

Her dark eyes seemed to twinkle a little as her lips twisted into a smile.

"Hello, big brother."

Percy flashed back to the last thing he remembered, which was knocking out Nike and dabbing like an idiot. Then... everything had gone dark.

"Oh, shit. I'm dead, aren't I?"

Bianca's smile didn't waver but her eyes took on hint of mischievousness.

"You should be, you just knocked out a goddess and then apparently thought you were Cam Newton and celebrated like a tool."

He at least had the good sense to look embarrassed, "Yeah, perhaps not the most sensible thing I've done." Then his face became solemn, "If I'm not dead, how am I here?" He gestured around them to the fields of Elysium.

"Where do you think you got that little rebellious streak of yours?" She teased. "Dad has some pretty liberal interpretations of rules when it benefits him for his family."

Percy got to his feet and reached a hand out to Bianca's face. It passed right through and his heart felt like it was being ripped to pieces all over again.

"Oh Bianca, I'm so sorry."

Her expression was sad but she continued to gaze upon him fondly, "For what? For giving me a person that I would lay down my life for without a second's hesitation? Someone who I know would do the same for me; or Nico, or Hazel? I don't regret anything about my life, especially not how it ended."

Percy's eyes stung. It felt so good to hear her words but it was also so painful to know he didn't know when or if he would ever be able to hear them or see her once, he didn't try to hide his emotions as a tear streaked down his face.

"Our time is short, big brother. Dad didn't send you here so you could you could cry over my death."

"What is it?" He asked, already knowing that if his father had given Bianca to task to telling him, it wasn't going to be good.

"The Physician's Cure." She answered seriously.

Percy felt his stomach drop a little. Annabeth had discovered the Physician's Cure was a mythical potion developed by Apollo's son Asclepius, the god of medicine. It was said to be the only thing ever created that could cure death. If they needed the Physician's Cure, it meant someone else was going to need it, which meant someone else was going to die.

"I was hoping Juno had mentioned it so I could use it on you." Percy admitted not meeting her eyes.

"It doesn't work like that," she smiled back sadly. "It will only work if administered minutes after someone dies."

"Then who?"

She shook her head, "You know I couldn't tell you that even if I knew. You're here so I can help you get it, so that when the moment comes you will at least have a chance."

None of this was what Percy wanted to hear. After Bianca, he couldn't take the death of anyone else he loved. Seeing her soul before him was almost as painful as the moment he lost her.

"Then what? I'll do whatever it takes."

"Not you. Only Leo will be able to bargain with Apollo to divulge the location of his son."

"What?" Percy exclaimed. "Apollo will tell me. He is one of the few gods that doesn't go out of his way to make demigods suffer. Besides that, he still owes me."

"The gods are not in their right minds. You saw Hera and Nike. Apollo will be difficult to negotiate with. You should prepare yourself when you reach Delos. It will not be the happy reunion that your quest thinks it will be."

Percy had a sinking feeling about who she meant by quest. But before he had a chance to ask more, his vision seemed to blink out. Bianca's expression turned to sadness.

"We're out of time, Percy." She stepped forward and pressed her lips to his cheek. To his shock, he felt the touch of her lips on his face. She stepped back and gave him a small smile.

"Being a child of Hades does have its perks."

He smiled back at her, "I love you, Bianca."

Her smile grew, "Be careful, Percy." Her body seemed to fade out or maybe that was him. He tried to hold on to the sight of her smiling face as long as he could.

"Percy," her voice was barely more than a whisper, "when the time comes, tell Nico you love him unconditionally."

He didn't have a chance to fully comprehend that strange final statement as he felt his soul being pulled from Elysium and out of the Underworld.

**-X-**

He awoke and immediately knew he was back in his body. The searing pain in his chest was a dead giveaway. He was on his back and could feel the cool air on his bare chest.

"Ow!" He yelped when he felt a sharp jab near his wound.

Before he could even open his eyes, he felt something soft hit his lips. He didn't need his eyes to know the feel of those lips. They were pretty much his favorite thing in the world and were the exact thing he needed after having to see and then leave his dead sister.

He wished the kiss didn't have to end. But like all good things in his life, it was followed by something that sucked. Zoe punched him in the leg with such force he could almost feel his muscle knot up from the charley horse.

"Holy Hades!" He cursed, invoking the name of his father, something he admonished others for doing.

"You're an idiot!" Zoe growled at him. "Fighting Nike by yourself? And what was that stupid thing you did? A dab? If you weren't already wounded, I'd probably stab you myself!"

"I'm gonna level with you..."

"Shut up and sit still." She ordered. "I need to finishing stitching your chest." She was on her knees leaning over him as she worked. He looked up and realized they were on the deck of the ship.

He wisely followed her orders and lay still as she brought the needle to his wound. He looked up and saw her eyes were swollen and red, streaks ran through the dirt on her face from her tears. He felt a surge of guilt run through him for bringing her to tears. He reached out and put his hand on her thigh, squeezing gently as he tried to convey his apology.

She tensed for a second, then started stitching again, "We thought you died, several times." Her voice cracked and her dark eyes met his and he could see the fear still in them. "You stopped breathing, for minutes at a time."

"That makes sense," he conceded and she stopped to wait for him to explain.

"Before I woke up, I was in Elysium, with Bianca."

Zoe's eyes immediately turned sad and she looked at him with pity.

"Yeah," he agreed with her silent assessment. "Not very fun to see her as a spirit."

"Why were you there?" She asked as she began to work again.

"She told me about the Physician's Cure and how we will need to bargain with Apollo for the location of his son, Asclepius."

"Why will we have to bargain with him?"

Percy mentally cringed at this part, "Apparently the gods are not in their right minds. She said Apollo and Artemis may not be as helpful as we thought."

Zoe was silent as she pulled out a small pair of scissors and cut the thread for his stitches.

"Artemis will help."

Percy could hear the doubt in her voice but knew better than to question it. Then his eyes widened as a million questions flooded is mind.

He jolted up and immediately regretted it as the pain in his chest seared and he nearly lost his lunch before he controlled himself.

"Gods, Percy," Zoe scolded. "That spear went straight through your chest. You need to be careful until you've healed."

"Right," he winced in agreement. "But where is Nike? Where are the others? How did we get back to the ship? What..." Zoe clamped her hand over his mouth. She gave him a glare until he stopped trying to speak. Then she explained that the ship had appeared minutes after he'd defeated Nike and then collapsed. They had used the golden ropes Piper mentioned to bind the goddess and bring her aboard the ship. The others had her tied to a chair in the galley and were contemplating their next move after Zoe asked them to leave so she could stitch his wound.

Percy listened and then, much more carefully this time, tried to get to his feet.

"I will rest, I promise." He agreed. "I just want to see Nike first. Then we can have Leo set a course for Delos and I'll rest for the whole trip there.

Zoe didn't look thrilled but she helped him up. She started towards the stairs to go below deck but then noticed Percy hadn't moved.

"Are you coming?"

He held out his hand for her. She took a step back and grasped it before he pulled her closer to him. He used his finger to gently wipe the tear streaks from her face.

"I'm sorry. That was pretty stupid. I just," he frowned. "I don't know, I guess I didn't see any other way."

Zoe bit her lip then pressed her head into his chest. She stayed their silently for a moment and just enjoyed the sound of his beating heart; just to remind her that those moments of near death were over and Percy was still alive beside her.

"I know," she whispered. "You probably saved us all and the quest."

Percy looked like he was going to protest but she cut him off.

"But, maybe just once, you can let someone else do the stupid hero thing and risk their life."

Percy kissed the top of her head but didn't reply. She hadn't expected him to. It was a promise she knew he couldn't make and if there was one thing he didn't do, it was make empty promises.

"Come on," she said taking his hand. "Let's go find the others so you can get some rest before we reach Artemis and Apollo."

They made their way below deck and the minute they stepped below, they could hear the screeching and wailing of Nike. Apparently she was awake and was not taking kindly to her new accommodations.

When they entered the room, the goddess ceased her fit and fixed her gaze on Percy. He met her glare and calmly walked to the middle of the room. The rest of the members of the quest were standing near the far wall of the galley, perhaps trying to have a conversation out of the earshot of the raging goddess.

"So," Nike growled. Her eyes were still wide and wild but she seemed more in control of her aspects, which was at least some progress. "The conquering hero lives. I had hoped your wounds would be fatal after your underhanded and illegal tactics!"

Instead of responding, Percy just grabbed a chair from the table and pulled it to a spot a few feet of where the goddess was bound.

"You are a fool, Percy Jackson. You will never find the Physician's Cure. Free me and perhaps I will help you negotiate with the sun god."

"Wait," Annabeth said, "What does she mean?"

"We're all on the same side, milady. Why would you oppose us when we fight a common enemy?" His voice was even and calm. He sounded genuine but it did little to sway the goddess.

She struggled against the binds and almost knocked her chair over only for Percy to catch her before she could topple.

"GODS DAMN IT!" Percy yelled as the goddess bit into his forearm hard enough to break the skin. He ripped his hand away and stumbled away. He looked back at Nike in shock only to see the goddess give him a crimson smile, her teeth stained with his blood. He looked down at his arm and saw the punctures in his skin.

Annabeth, Hazel and Zoe ran to Percy as he took his seat, shaking his head at the crazy goddess.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked looking at his arm with concern.

He just shook his arm. "I'm fine. Might need a rabies shot but apparently she's as good at biting as she is at defeating mortal heroes."

"I will destroy you!" Nike screeched. "Free me now mortal! I will burn this ship to ashes!"

"Nico," Percy said waving over his brother. Nico ran over and Percy gestured for him to lean down. Cupping his hand, Percy whispered something in Nico's ear. When he was done, Nico pulled back and gave him a confused look only for Percy to nod emphatically. Nico ran out of the galley and returned less than a minute later. He handed something to Percy that Percy held in his clenched fist.

Percy stood up and walked up to Nike.

He leaned down close to her face, "I told you, before it was over, I would dab over your unconscious body."

Nike opened her mouth to respond when Percy shoved his hand towards her mouth and stuffed something off-white in it. He held his hand over her mouth and then turned to Nico.

"Tape!"

Nico pulled a roll of duct tape out of his shirt and pulled off a long strip. He handed it to Percy who used it to replace his hand covering the goddess' mouth. He stepped back as Nike tried to scream with her mouth gagged and taped closed.

"Ah, much better." He smirked. "I hope you enjoy that gag, its the sock I was wearing when I walked through Tartarus. Don't mind the smell, they didn't have any laundry mats in the abyss."

"Ugh," Leo gagged. "Dude, you wore that that thing for like two weeks straight."

"Yup," Percy grinned. "And man, it was hot down there."

"Dude," Leo complained. "Why haven't you washed that?"

Percy glared at him, "Sorry, been a little preoccupied since we left House of Hades."

Hazel pinched Leo's arm making him flinch. He opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he saw not just Hazel but just about everyone else shaking their heads like he was an idiot.

"Oh yeah," Percy added. "Did I mention its an Under Armor sock?"

He wasn't sure which fact had the goddess more furious. That is was his disgustingly gross and smelly sock or that it was a competitor of Nike. Either way, he took a good bit of satisfaction in the goddess' look to fury.

He turned around and took his seat again, pulling himself up to the table, "So," he looked around at his friends, "we can check subduing Nike off the list. Now I believe we have a couple exiled gods to find."

"Right, Captain!" Leo saluted. "Any idea of where we can find said gods?"

"Delos," Zoe answered. "It is the place where Artemis and Apollo were born. If they've been exiled from Olympus, it is where they would go."

"We should all get some rest." Percy said seriously. "Going off Nike and Hera, I think its safe to say that we should be prepared for some, uh, challenges." He glanced at Zoe but then looked away, happy she didn't argue. He excused himself from the group and left the galley, making his way to his room to get some much needed rest.

**Line Break**

He wasn't sure how long he slept. It felt only like minutes but given the dreams that Gaea sent his way, it could have just been from the lack of true rest his mind got.

Zoe must have come in the room while he slept. The lights were out and the candle that had been smashed over his head had been replaced and provided the only light in the room.

He gingerly put a hand to his chest and was surprised to find himself shirtless again. He touched his wound and could feel the moist residue of nectar and ambrosia; clearly Zoe had taken it upon herself to continue treating his wound. He noticed the remains of his shirt in the corner of the room and grumbled softly to himself at the destruction of a perfectly good t-shirt.

The door opened gently and Zoe slipped in quietly.

"Really?" Percy asked making her jump. "I liked that shirt."

"I tried to take it off of you," she protested. "You're pretty heavy."

"Are you calling me fat?" He sent her a playful glare he doubted she could see in the dim light of the room, though he could see her just fine as she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you've really started to let yourself go."

"Hmph," he pouted. "Well, not all of us can be those one hundred and twenty pound demigods you see in the magazines!"

She just stared at him until he let out a small chuckle.

"Anyway, what time is it? How long was I out?"

"Only a few hours but it's close to midnight. Leo, Piper and Jason just took over up top. Everyone else is in bed."

She made her way over to her bag of belongings and sat down on the end of bed, untying her boots and tossing them into the corner. She stood up and stretched before then laid down beside him.

"I'll go check on our progress and you can get some sleep." Percy started to get up but she grabbed his hand and pulled him back down.

"No, they have it under control. Besides, I'm not tired anyway." She protested.

"Do you want to grab some food?"

Instead of answering, she scooted closer to him and laid down on his shoulder, turning so she was facing him.

"Relax, Percy. You promised you'd rest until we got to Delos."

"I thought that was what I just did? You know it's hard for me to sit still with this stupid ADHD."

"Then don't just sit there."

"What do you..." Before he could finish, she leaned into him and kissed him softly. "Well, I suppose I can sit still for that." He leaned back in and kissed her. His hand went to her cheek and their lips worked. Her hand went to his chest and she traced lines over the scars covering his torso.

Her sensual touch sent a shiver down his body as their kiss intensified, their mouths opening and becoming more urgent. Zoe leaned forward until she was basically lying on top of him. Her actions the past couple days had been a surprise to him, albeit a pleasant one.

His hands moved into her hair, holding her head as they broke their kiss only for short gasps of air. Zoe pulled back and sat up abruptly, leaving him both disappointed and confused.

Without a word, her hands went to her shirt and pulled it off quickly. He could see her cheeks redden as she sat their in just her bra.

"Well," Percy smiled a little nervously but it was an excited nervousness.

Zoe crashed her lips back onto his and he could feel her breasts against his chest. He placed a hand on her stomach before she grabbed it and moved it onto her breast without breaking the kiss.

He felt a rush as he held her breasts in his hand for the first time in only a bra.

Her left hand reached behind her and Percy could hear the snap of her bra being unhooked. Not needed to be persuaded, he grabbed the bra and tossed it to the floor. He rolled himself on top of her and sat up.

He looked down and felt him shorts suddenly feel a lot smaller. Her unclothed top sucked the air from his lungs. Her breasts weren't enormous but they were perfect for you small, lithe body. Without thinking about it, he pressed his lips to her neck as he brushed his fingers over her nipple.

Zoe writhed underneath him and he knew she must have been able to feel him through his shorts.

He kissed down her neck and to her collarbone as she squirmed, trying to move her body up and his mouth down. Catching the hint, he latched onto her breast and heard her breath hitch before letting out a soft moan.

She turned slightly so he moved to laying beside her.

She touched his face and guided his mouth back up to hers. He kissed her with a hunger he'd never felt before. He ground himself against her leg until he felt her hand on his lower stomach.

Her fingers slowly slid down, under the elastic of his shorts and briefs, making him go still in the middle of their kissing.

"Zoe," he said breathily. She didn't answer as her flingers continued to move lower slowly until they brushed against him.

His shorts and briefs became painful and she seemed to notice. She pulled her hand out and grabbed the band of his shorts and briefs and tugged them down a little. Her hand then grabbed hold of him, pulling his hardness free of their confines. She stroked it slowly and Percy hissed at the pleasure.

"Oh my gods, Zoe."

She smiled shyly and pressed her lips to his again. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She had wanted to progress things with him before Hera had taken him from her and she did not want to miss another chance. She felt so much passion as she held him, stroking faster and making his legs tense. She felt something inside her that she hadn't felt in millennia as a hunter.

"Zoe... I'm close."

Percy wished this would last forever but his body had other plans for his first intense sexual experience. Her small hand rubbed him so perfectly and the sight of her beautiful body only made holding back harder.

She kissed him hard again before she slid down on the bed. Her hand slid lower on his shaft before her mouth took him in. Her tongue circled him as she took him deeper in her mouth.

"Zoe!" He cried out right before she felt it. Warmth hit her throat and then her mouth while Percy

continued to moan in bliss.

She slid her mouth up and down slowly until she started to feel him soften. She swallowed and then pulled off, looking up at lover and seeing his expression of ecstasy. She scooted back up and laid back down on his shoulder.

It took a moment for Percy to be able to even think in complete sentences.

"I love you, Percy." She said softly.

He seemed to come out of his daze and smiled lovingly at her.

"I love you too."

**A.N: Yeah, so never written anythimg like before... save the holier than thou stuff ****for someone who cares... there was a warning at the top of the chapter... just don't read if you don't like.**


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